that is one shining example of the so-called "local government apartheid" that Atlanta is so famous for. In 1990 when Fulton built out their 800 Smartnet system, the city of Atlanta was just starting to look at replacing their aging UHF conventional system which was installed in the early 70's. Detective radio was still on VHF (for interoperability!) if you recall. But they held out for the 1996 Olympics thinking Motorola would cut them "a deal" on a Smartnet II system since Ma M was the official radio communications sponsor of the event (I still have my "Olympic Gold Edition" MicroTac IS-136 digital cellphone, the FIRST Motorola TDMA handset with it's cool leather case with Olympic logo). But that didn't happen, Motorola brought in a VHF analog Smartnet system and handed out SP Systems Sabers (yeah, got one of those too!). Atlanta ended up scrambling with an RFP for a Smartnet II system and got boned. Never had the coverage needed (remember when Ofc. Pat Cocciolone and her partner were shot by some nutjob in Buckhead? She claimed she tried her portable several times, hit her emergency button, no one responded. No one heard her either.) and now the new system works great in town but has poor coverage outside the city whereas the old system did not.
Atlanta and Fulton steadfastly *refuses* to work with each other on anything governmental. It's such a stupid foolish waste of resources. The Fulton system is an excellent one for it's time (and still is) with coverage reaching far north and south of the city. If there wasn't such a strained relationship, we might have more end to end interoperability.
Contrary to what Motorola pushes, equipment alone is only a small part of solving the issues at hand of interoperability. 80 percent of it is people.
If we were serious about this, we'd have a statewide radio authority/board like MECA eventually became Project Hoosier-SAFE T in Indiana. And we'd have a kick butt statewide radio system too.
Ah pipe dreams....
