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Hamilton County, Ohio Deploys Communications System

More than 2,000 public safety users linked in county and neighboring jurisdictions.

CINCINNATI -- Hamilton County, Ohio, went online with the second phase of its communications system from Motorola, making communications possible among all public safety agencies in the county and in neighboring jurisdictions.

Coming online during Phase II are more than 100 public safety agencies. Fire department personnel began using Phase I of the system in 2002. By the end of 2004, the county will be interoperable with the city of Cincinnati, now in the process of developing a 10-site, 20-channel infrastructure for its public safety communications.

"Interoperability between multiple jurisdictions is critical to homeland security," said Greg Wenz, operations director for the Hamilton County Department of Communications. "All of our emergency responders will now be able to talk with each other at the scene of an incident or large-scale event and confer with others located in another part of the county. The interoperability can make a difference that saves a life."

Hamilton County is located in the extreme southwest corner of Ohio, covering an area of 414 square miles and a population of 845,268 people. More than 2,000 subscribers and 15 sites are on the Hamilton County system, which includes most of the cities, villages and townships within Hamilton County, as well as the Metropolitan Sewer District. Hamilton County users will also be able to communicate with Clermont County, Warren County, Westchester Township and the state's Multi-Agency Radio Communications System (MARCS).

Individual system sites are connected by a digital microwave system. Dispatchers will manage communications traffic from nine CENTRACOM Gold Elite consoles at the county's existing dispatch center.

The county purchased approximately 1,800 XTS 5000 portable radios and 350 ASTRO SPECTRA Plus mobile radios for use by public-safety agencies. In addition, a Premier CAD Computer-Aided Dispatch System will be integrated into the system by early 2004. The technology helps call-takers and dispatchers quickly and efficiently handle incident information, and will help the county prepare for Phase II Wireless E911.
Miriam Jones is a former chief copy editor of Government Technology, Governing, Public CIO and Emergency Management magazines.