had a discussion with people in the know today.. System won't be fully up and operational for close to 2 years.. and the Big E...
I believe it. These statewide trunking systems are usually a multi-year project to plan, coordinate, construct, and buildout. The state of Michigan took 4-5 years to fully complete their system, and they are still adding new sites, and simulcast cells to the system every year, mostly to improve handheld radio coverage in rural areas. Conversely, smaller states like Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island were completed in roughly a year, maybe two at the most. Considering the fact that Kentucky has some very mountainous terrain, the RF engineering studies have to take this into account, and initial tower locations will probably have to augmented by additional sites, which leads to cost overruns. This scenario has played out countless times across the country.
The cities and counties that are currently using P25 trunking systems that were built by Motorola, can be easily integrated into the statewide radio system. There will be costs associated with upgrading the microwave backhaul network, infrastructure, reprogramming of radios, consoles, common encryption keys, and other equipment. However, by integrating local systems into the statewide TRS, it allows for better sharing of resources, cost savings, and above all else a common interoperability platform that can help form a cohesive and coordinated response to incidents like what happened on December 10, 2021.
When it comes to the "Big E," there are numerous cases when some communities and counties use nonstandard encryption keys to keep other agencies from listening into their radio traffic. This really defeats the purpose of interoperability, when two neighboring towns, or counties are fully encrypted but can't communicate with each other on the same TRS. Then one dispatch center has to call the other on the landline so they coordinate resources with each agency, especially during a high-speed pursuit going from one area to another. This can be totally frustrating.
73's
Ron