This is the press release that Alan Henney posted that Mike is referring to....
October 5, 2006
For more information:
John E. Erzen
Press Information Officer
Prince George’s County
Office of the County Executive
COUNTY EXECUTIVE ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO BRING 800 MHZ RADIO SYSTEM TO COUNTY
UPPER MARLBORO, MD – Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson today announced that the county has signed an agreement with Motorola and will begin construction of an 800 MHZ radio system for the county.
“For years, Prince George’s County has been referred to as the hole in the middle of the region because we were the only jurisdiction that did not have an 800 MHZ radio system, but that is no longer the case,” Johnson said. “All of our public safety agencies will now be able to talk to surrounding areas. The 800 MHZ radio system will further enhance the delivery of public safety to the citizens and residents of Prince George’s County and provide another level of protection for them and for our public safety personnel on the streets.”
The announcement comes a little more than two years after the county began negotiating to replace the current radio system which was installed more than 20 years ago. Motorola is the largest supplier of land mobile radio systems for public safety in the United States. They have provided public safety radio networks for many local governments in this region.
The $68 million project should take approximately three years to complete. Of the 21 radio towers being used for the system, three are existing towers from the county’s current system that can be converted to the 800 MHZ, one has already been built and another one is about to be constructed.
A tower has been built in Brandywine and a tower that will be located in Oxon Hill at Oxon Hill Road and the Beltway is set for construction. The remaining 16 towers will be built during the next two years.
Johnson was joined at the press conference by Public Safety Director Vernon Herron, Sheriff Michael Jackson, Police Chief Melvin High, Fire Chief Lawrence Sedgwick, Park Police Chief Larry Brownlee and Motorola executives Patty Holtschneider and Bruce Fryer.
“We chose the 800 MHZ radio system because we understand that it is a tool that the men and women in our public safety agencies need to do their jobs effectively and safely,” Johnson said. “We have built first class public safety agencies with first class people, first class facilities and first class equipment. Now, we will have a first class radio system to go with that.”