The average Motorola Solutions P25 CAI network for a small to medium sized city/county costs 2 to 5 million dollars to procure, and $150,000 a year to maintain. These cities and counties are having to cut cost and simply cannot afford these high dollar, high maintenance LMR networks. They are also looking to the future, when the promise of LTE means lower cost MSUs and integrated advanced networks are around the corner in the next 7-10 years or even sooner.
I can't speak with authority on any other systems, but I can speak with authority on mine. This statement above is dead on for us.
We used to have about 500 or so radio, all Motorola. Over the years that number has shrunk to nearly zero, and here is why:
-When CDF adopted Kenwood as the standard, our fire department eventually followed. There was a cost savings.
-When our police department needed new radios, a careful cost comparison was done, and they have stopped purchasing Motorola. Again, cost savings.
-When our single site 800MHz SmartNet system needed replacement we looked at all our options, P25, LTR, staying analog, MotoTrbo, NXDN, etc. Since 95% of the users on this system are not public safety, P25 was ruled out due to extremely high cost. Plumbers, bus drivers and garbage trucks do not need a $4000 P25 radio. There is precisely ZERO need for the guy emptying the dumpsters to need to talk directly with a police officer. Cost ruled out P25.
MotoTrbo was a serious contender, until we ran into Motorola's marketing techniques. Motorola had very specifically blocked 800MHz MotoTrbo radios from accessing NPSPAC channels, the ones we were licensed for. Motorola's answer was: You -MUST- purchase P25. My answer: No I don't. Bye.
The LTR and analog solutions were given serious consideration, but in the end we went with NXDN. Big cost savings compared to P25.
Pricing is a big issue with Motorola, and their sales/marketing techniques have very directly driven us to other brands. We are a small site, so this wouldn't even show on Motorola's radar. But I know for a fact that we are not the only ones that have had to make similar decisions.
While there may (or may not) be some economic recovery, the money has not trickled down to us yet. Budgets are still tight all around. Expecting our users to purchase $4000 radios was not even close to realistic. Our PD didn't want to spend that much on equipment considering the there are new technologies on the horizon, and not one of the local agencies they work with are running anything over than VHF analog.
So, they either make due patching and piecing a decades old system together, or replacing it with a cost effective interim solution such as DMR, NXDN or even TETRA which can cost only a couple hundred thousand to procure and only a few grand a year to operate compared to a P25 CAI network. Interoperability is a buzz word tossed around like a new fad drug at a swinger's party. It isn't as complex as some vendors make it out to be, and it doesn't mean implementing a complex large scale LMR network to achieve.
Abso-freakin-loutly correct. Interoperability is a political buzzword. Being able to interoperate doesn't mean having to purchase expensive radios. It means having people smart enough to look at the issue and come up with a logical solution. If none of the surrounding agencies are running 700MHz P25, it is absolutely foolish for a department to run out and spend millions on such a system.
Motorola Solutions is like Sears and every other American giant. They are top heavy with mid to upper management, and demand for what they have to offer is shrinking.
They will be on the auction block in 3 to 5 years. Watch and see.
Should be interesting to see what happens. Like the big Bell's, their monopoly has a crack in it. Technology is changing and if they fail to keep up, they'll get pushed aside. Motorola's sales and marketing attitude is holding them back. They make a lot of great radios, but there are some people that need to get out of the way.
