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By CAROLYN FEIBEL and BRADLEY OLSON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Oct. 14, 2008, 10:44PM
Houston is poised to build a $107 million emergency radio system that will allow police, fire and rescue officials to communicate with one another in large-scale catastrophes.
The long-awaited update comes more than seven years after the struggles of first responders to communicate after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks drew national attention. The City Council could approve Mayor Bill White's contract with Motorola as soon as next week.
"This will make our law enforcement and public works emergency functions much more reliable as we grow in the future," White said Tuesday. "If we had done nothing, police or fire ran the risk of getting the equivalent of a busy signal over the next decade."
The contract will mean more than 10,000 new field radios for police, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and utility workers. It will be the largest single purchase of equipment in Houston's history. The goal is to phase in the project, which will operate on a 700 MHz system, over the next four years, said Richard Lewis, the city's director for Information Technology.
Currently, the city has three separate radio systems: one each for police, Fire/EMS and Public Works & Engineering. To talk to each other or to their counterparts in the county, the three departments must utilize an inefficient "patch" or a temporary "gateway device," said Dennis Storemski, the city's director of Public Safety and Homeland Security.
"You can only do a limited number of frequencies at a time," Storemski said. The new all-digital system will allow for complete interoperability, he said. "We can tie our channels together whenever we want."
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, upgrading radio communications systems has become a national security priority. The Department of Homeland Security has awarded billions of dollars in grants toward this end.
Houston has received more than $40 million in federal grants to pay for the radio system, Lewis said. Other sources include money set aside in capital improvement budgets, and $34 million from a 2006 voter-approved bond referendum.
An Ike example
White said cellular phone service was so sporadic in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike that he often used a police radio, including communications with the sites where food, ice and other supplies were being delivered to people in need.
Harris County, which operates on an 800 MHz frequency, has been interoperable within its own system for years, said Steve Jennings, chief information officer for the county's Information Technology Center.
A series of upgrades through 2005 cost $41 million. Excluding the city of Houston, the county's nearly 20-year-old public safety radio system is one of the largest in the country, boasting 35,000 radios from 600 agencies and departments within about 230 jurisdictions, Jennings said.
The county has purchased 2,000 radios since April that can operate on both the 700 MHz and 800 MHz frequencies, he said. Another 8,000 radios will be converted to work on both frequencies by next June.
All radios should be capable of operating on both frequencies by 2012 or 2013, he added.
County may join in
The city currently uses 400 MHz, but will be moving to 700 MHz, a spectrum formerly used for analog television that is widely valued because it can penetrate buildings and is broadly available.
The city will start discussions with Harris County officials to see if they would like to join in the Motorola contract.
The city will begin a 272-day design period for the radio system as soon as Council approves the contract.
The county will not be able to decide whether to participate in the city's contract until the terms of the deal are made public, including the models of radios being provided and the per-unit price, Jennings said.
Despite dispensing billions for radio upgrades, Homeland Security has been criticized for its lack of oversight of how the money should be spent. Many local governments bought new equipment prematurely or avoided needed upgrades, according to a 2007 report from the Government Accountability Office.
David McIntyre, director of the Integrative Center for Homeland Security at Texas A&M University, said that when local and federal officials have gone through major disasters or even drills designed to help them prepare, improving interoperability often is cited as the most significant "takeaways."
"It is a constant, nagging problem," he said. "And it's always harder than it seems."
Chronicle reporter Liz Austin Peterson contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Oct. 14, 2008, 10:44PM
Houston is poised to build a $107 million emergency radio system that will allow police, fire and rescue officials to communicate with one another in large-scale catastrophes.
The long-awaited update comes more than seven years after the struggles of first responders to communicate after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks drew national attention. The City Council could approve Mayor Bill White's contract with Motorola as soon as next week.
"This will make our law enforcement and public works emergency functions much more reliable as we grow in the future," White said Tuesday. "If we had done nothing, police or fire ran the risk of getting the equivalent of a busy signal over the next decade."
The contract will mean more than 10,000 new field radios for police, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and utility workers. It will be the largest single purchase of equipment in Houston's history. The goal is to phase in the project, which will operate on a 700 MHz system, over the next four years, said Richard Lewis, the city's director for Information Technology.
Currently, the city has three separate radio systems: one each for police, Fire/EMS and Public Works & Engineering. To talk to each other or to their counterparts in the county, the three departments must utilize an inefficient "patch" or a temporary "gateway device," said Dennis Storemski, the city's director of Public Safety and Homeland Security.
"You can only do a limited number of frequencies at a time," Storemski said. The new all-digital system will allow for complete interoperability, he said. "We can tie our channels together whenever we want."
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, upgrading radio communications systems has become a national security priority. The Department of Homeland Security has awarded billions of dollars in grants toward this end.
Houston has received more than $40 million in federal grants to pay for the radio system, Lewis said. Other sources include money set aside in capital improvement budgets, and $34 million from a 2006 voter-approved bond referendum.
An Ike example
White said cellular phone service was so sporadic in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike that he often used a police radio, including communications with the sites where food, ice and other supplies were being delivered to people in need.
Harris County, which operates on an 800 MHz frequency, has been interoperable within its own system for years, said Steve Jennings, chief information officer for the county's Information Technology Center.
A series of upgrades through 2005 cost $41 million. Excluding the city of Houston, the county's nearly 20-year-old public safety radio system is one of the largest in the country, boasting 35,000 radios from 600 agencies and departments within about 230 jurisdictions, Jennings said.
The county has purchased 2,000 radios since April that can operate on both the 700 MHz and 800 MHz frequencies, he said. Another 8,000 radios will be converted to work on both frequencies by next June.
All radios should be capable of operating on both frequencies by 2012 or 2013, he added.
County may join in
The city currently uses 400 MHz, but will be moving to 700 MHz, a spectrum formerly used for analog television that is widely valued because it can penetrate buildings and is broadly available.
The city will start discussions with Harris County officials to see if they would like to join in the Motorola contract.
The city will begin a 272-day design period for the radio system as soon as Council approves the contract.
The county will not be able to decide whether to participate in the city's contract until the terms of the deal are made public, including the models of radios being provided and the per-unit price, Jennings said.
Despite dispensing billions for radio upgrades, Homeland Security has been criticized for its lack of oversight of how the money should be spent. Many local governments bought new equipment prematurely or avoided needed upgrades, according to a 2007 report from the Government Accountability Office.
David McIntyre, director of the Integrative Center for Homeland Security at Texas A&M University, said that when local and federal officials have gone through major disasters or even drills designed to help them prepare, improving interoperability often is cited as the most significant "takeaways."
"It is a constant, nagging problem," he said. "And it's always harder than it seems."
Chronicle reporter Liz Austin Peterson contributed to this report.
