New county radio system set for April launch

Wise County is preparing to merge onto its upgraded radio infrastructure April 28. COURTESY WISE COUNTY OEM

When the clock strikes midnight April 28, Wise County emergency radio frequency will merge onto a new system, expanding capacity and coverage of critical communications infrastructure.

Over the last two years, the Wise County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) has led an effort to transition the aging infrastructure to the new system. The $5.9 million project is a complete overhaul of tower equipment, units, software, cores and consoles. 

“We didn’t build it to fit our needs now, we built it to fit our needs to match the life cycle of the new equipment and the county’s growth,” said Emergency Management Coordinator Cody Powell.

The technology and equipment was purchased from American Communications in Bridgeport. The county is using its American Rescue Plan Act funding to cover the cost of the project. Powell said upgrading radio infrastructure has been a lingering and pressing need. The availability federal ARPA funding provided the opportunity to address it. 

“The equipment was failing, and we were sourcing parts and making things work on that radio system to keep it limping along,” Powell said.

Low lying areas have been especially problematic for emergency communications. During the lengthy testing process, the new system has improved signal reach. The most apparent benefit of the switch is a major capacity increase. That was a key consideration as the county looked at its projected growth and call volume, and what scale of upgrade to pursue.

The upgrade is bringing the county’s system from Project 25 (P25) conventional to P25 Phase 2. P25 is a standard for digital two-way wireless communications products developed under the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). P25 Phase 2 provides additional available simultaneously on the channel system. P25 Phase 2 creates two logical channels in one 12.5kHz physical channel.

“It will double our capacity,” Powell said.

The project includes 700 individual radios, which each have to be programmed individually. Powell said installation of infrastructure is nearly complete, and testing phases are underway. The radios are being provided to county personnel and each Wise County fire department. 

So far, county personnel have have conducted a total of five rounds of testing. Each testing location includes a test of a vehicle mounted mobile radio and a portable radio, with Wise County EMS driving throughout the county to gauge signal quality. Each test is scored by three people; the end user in the field, the person operating the console in the Wise County Emergency Operations Center, and one person listening on a portable radio inside a building in Decatur.

Each score, ranging from 0-45, is registered and is based on the audio quality and monitored by the radio vendor for adjustments.

“Testing has identified some areas where adjustments need to be made however, overall, the testing has shown the new system will provide far superior coverage and reliability,” Powell told Wise County Commissioners last week. “There are several rounds of additional testing planned to ensure our readiness to switch.”

In addition to testing, the county is training staff over the next few weeks to learn the ins and outs of P25 Phase 2 radios. Wise County OEM will also conduct radio system training at Wise County Firefighters Association’s fire chiefs meeting 7 p.m. April 18 at Wise County EMS Station 1.

“This was a monumental undertaking that was only possible because the team here at OEM, our facility’s director, Jimmy Counts, IT Director, Steven Melton, and our vendor, who is local to Wise County, American Communications,” Powell said. “We have weekly project meetings with our team and the vendor, plus talk or meet several times a week just with the Wise County team to keep this on track. I know no individual could possible manage this project alone.”