By Bruce Paull
The future of radio communication in Iowa County is being consiered by the Iowa County Board of Supervisors.
The Iowa County Board recently held a Committee of the Whole Meeting to listen and discuss the public safety communications in Iowa County and the surrounding counties. The discussion was attended by the different public safety departments from the communities in Iowa County. This was inclusive of Emergency Management, Law Enforcement, EMT, and fire departments.
The presentation from Pointon Communications and EFJohnson Technologies explained the WIS- COM system that Iowa County utilizes now. The original deployment scope was based on available funding at the time. Also talked about were the limitations and the need to upgrade. At the present time, Iowa County only has about 84% coverage, which no longer meets public safety requirements. The current paging / gateway talk-out system coverage is much worse when looking at the proven coverage on the map. This is critical to be prepared with the needed support when responding to an event. This could be a response to an accident requiring an EMT or a critical law enforcement situation that needs support. The State of Wisconsin has set 95% as an acceptable coverage percentage. The plan presented would give responders in Iowa County over 97% coverage with the upgrade of the present system.
At the heart of the discussion is to remain in control of the system we have or change to the WISCO 800 MHz new rollout system. The Iowa County system has reached the intended end of life. That means that parts and support might not be available when equipment fails, which is concerning for reliability for responders.
To modernize and expand, the present WISCOM EFJohnson Atlas system would still be Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) compliant. Upgrades would include VHF Phase 2 Trunking, reuse of different assets of subscriber radios, and the StarGate dispatch consoles. The updated system would expand to 11 tower sites in Iowa County. Iowa County would construct and own three towers, which is an important aspect of the system. The hope is to secure space on three other towers that are strategically situated. All 11 sites will be simulcast. In certain situations, such as in a school or traveling down the road with simulcast, the responder will be getting a stronger signal without channel searching. This is part of the 97% coverage.
The expansion of the existing WIS- COM system will be county-only communication traffic. At the present time, other government agencies use two channels. The upgrade will lower the system demand and allow a 50% increase in simultaneous talkpath capacity. This all supports future growth and improves site handoff performance. The project would include 300 Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA) Viking licenses and would support P25 Phase 2 TDMA radios. TDMA advantages over analog include GPS tracking, text messaging, and telemetry in the same channel as voice.
Pointon Communications stated they have had a productive discussion with MHTC. MHTC has projects for internet connections and many miles of fiber-optic cable in the county, with ongoing project support for reliable internet. Backhaul will allow for the essential transport of data back to a central core network. This includes fiber-optic and microwave transmissions. Iowa County would maintain ownership and control of the upgraded system with no state-level decisions or external system changes. Iowa County will, at our discretion, control upgrades, lifecycle replacement, and future expansion.
Pointon Communications quoted $7.5 million for staying and upgrading the present system. The quote is a conditional discount that is a limited-time offer. The discount is extended to Iowa County because of the long relationship that Iowa County has had with Pointon Communications and EFJohnson. The options for government loans and grants are possible.
The change to the new State WIS- COM 800 MHz rollout system will come at a cost estimated to be $12.5 million. Not necessarily included is the potential of equipment to operate in conjunction with each other. It may require replacing/reprogramming large portions of the equipment used, with the potential to locally replace over 1,000 mobile and portable radios. The actual cost of labor for installation, engineering, testing, and cutover support is unknown at this time.
The State UHF WISCOM 800 MHz system has more challenges with foliage and landscape, so several more towers would likely be needed to reach the 95% coverage goal. The State of Wisconsin has grant money available to start the transition, but several aspects are not covered and would need to be covered locally. The system would be controlled by others outside of Iowa County, so in the future, there might be a requirement to pay a user/subscription fee for services.