Richardson replaced its 19-year-old, one-site, single-vendor analog system to build a four-site digital system that is optimized for quality, user-friendliness, technological compatibility/reliability, P25 Phase I & II compliance, and cost savings.
This system connects roughly 200 law enforcement officers, 120 firefighters, and other agencies such as parks and recreation at a cost of about $7.5 million. The general response from the users and those managing the new network is excitement and, admittedly, surprise. The system has proven to be easier to support, more flexible, highly effective, and offers greater coverage for the personnel who use it.
The new system is based off open standards and overseen by Steve Graves, CIO of Richardson. With a background in IT, Graves equated this communications framework to a digital network and compares this strategic move to the “Dell [computers] model” — hand-selecting individual components that provide customized solutions and the most value to the consumer; in Richardson’s case, a one-time saving to the tune of $5 million to $8 million.
These savings were the result of more than just a change in procurement strategies, Graves advised, but rather a paradigm shift in which the IT department and radio communications specialists work side-by-side to support each other. By taking advantage of Project 25 standards in this way, Richardson has enhanced the effectiveness and safety inherent in its communications network and, due to the large amount of money saved by pursuing disparate vendors, utilized tax-payer dollars more effectively. “We love it,” Graves said. “This is the future.”
Based on advanced IP technology, the new system has the capacity to handle more than 7,000 calls in an average day. Richardson’s system is made up of tools from a variety of vendors, including: Cassidian CORP25 infrastructure; 800 portable and mobile Motorola APX radios; tower and shelter equipment (including four radio transmitter sites, back-up power generators and file servers) from Sabre Industries; recording equipment from Voiceprint; fire alerting solutions from Zetron; and a 911 communications center featuring Avtec console systems with 25 user licenses.
“The Richardson success stands as a shining example of how vendors and municipalities can work together for responsible government and the economic benefit of the community,” said Cassidian Communications CEO Bob Freinberg. “Richardson is now a leader in the nationwide movement to unbundle the procurement of public safety land mobile radio systems.”
