Allegheny County plans to overhaul its countywide public safety radio communications system.
Allegheny County Emergency Services has contracted with the telecommunications company Motorola to create the new system, County Executive Rich Fitzgerald announced Thursday.
County officials described the current system as a “patchwork” of municipal and county 911 systems, many of which are nearing the end of their usefulness and may lack necessary technical support.
The new system will be the first countywide system launched in the county and will operate and manage “all emergency and non-emergency communications between the 911 Communications center and the nearly 400 public safety agencies, regional county partners, and the state,” according to a press release. It will include backup systems that can be used during potential disasters, like uninterrupted battery backups, generators, and redundant communications systems.
“This project improves public safety communications for every municipality of our county and possibly much more. It will also provide improved interoperability communications between agencies and with our neighboring counties and state agencies,” Allegheny County Emergency Services Chief Matt Brown said in a statement. “This project will provide for a standard of operations and security that will be a foundation for all future radio communications.”
The project will take five to seven years to complete. Components will be brought online in phases as they are completed. The total cost is about $80.3 million, to be paid over the course of eight years.
“Allegheny County has unique needs and challenges when it comes to a public safety radio communications system,” Fitzgerald said. “This investment ensures that everyone can communicate effectively and that the needs of the residents — and visitors — of this county are met when they are in need of help. While it’s a multiyear rollout, the final result will benefit our entire community when it’s complete.”
