L7 3 ~3 p ~ 51-4-e 2 W.R. "RUSTY" HIERHOLZER KF;RR COUNTY SI-IER11=F 400 C]_EARWATTR PASF,O Kr-:rzrzvtLLe. TFxns 78028 KERR COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE SUGGESTED THREE (3) YEAR COMMUNICATIONS PLAN 03-09-2009 The Kerr County Sheriff s Office is facing some major expenses to update radio equipment to be both FCC compliant and to integrate and be interoperable with surrounding agencies, to include the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Kerrville Police Department who already have or are in a position to transmit using a digital signal. The following plan is how the Kerr County Sheriff's Office is planning on addressing these issues through both grant and budgeted monies. BACKGROUND The Kerr County Sheriff's Office currently is licensed through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a wideband, analog radio system. The following information is excerpts from The Texas Statewide Interoperability Channel Plan, (Change #9), dated June 24, 2008: 1. Long-used VHF and UHF wideband radio channels with 15 / 25 kHz spacing are being augmented by and ultimately will be replaced with narrowband radio channels. This will create more communications channels for public safety users. Unfortunately, the new narrowband channels are fitted within and between the old wideband channels which will result in interference between wideband and narrowband users. 2. Generally, radios manufactured after 2000 are capable of operation on both wideband and narrowband channels. Due to interference, narrowband channels cannot be used effectively if a wideband co-channel or a wideband adjacent channel is being used within the operational range of either user. 3. The FCC has (in effect) established a deadline for wideband system conversion to narrowband by January 1, 2013, even though many wideband licenses expire after that date. After 3anuary 1, 2013, wideband users below ~ i 2 iviriz become secondary to narrowband users, and narrowband users can insist that the wideband license holder cease operation if interference occurs. It is certain that interference can and will occur. This plan addresses these problems by allowing use of wideband mutual aid channels only until January 1, 2013. 8>0-896-1216 • 830-257-7904 Fix • CENTr R PorNr 830-634-23?4 • CRIME STOPPERS 830-896-TIPS 4. Both wideband and nanowband communications radios have traditionally used analog modulation to convey the voice. Beginning in 2005, equipment capable of either analog or digital modulation began to become available, most built to be compliant with the APCO Project 25 specifications (often designated "P25"). 5. As of this release date, there is no regulatory requirement or deadline to change from analog modulation to digital modulation on VHF, UHF, and 800MHz bands. Therefore, this plan presumes that some public safety users may not immediately purchase digital-capable radio equipment and, for that reason, all mutual aid channels are defined to use analog modulation until January 1, 2015. Beginning January 1, 2015, all communications using interoperability channels in Texas must utilize compliant P25 Phase 1 (CAI) digital modulation. Jurisdictions are urged to plan accordingly. The Kerr County Sheriff's Office, Kerrville Police Department, Ingram City Marshal's Office and the Department of Public Safety are the main law enforcement entities working within Kerr County. All four of these entities routinely monitor and utilize each other's radio VHF systems in an effort to assist each other due to the limited amount of officers that each agency has on duty at any one time. All four of these agencies use one-man patrol units. The Department of Public Safety has already moved to a digital signal which is Standards Based P25 and the Kerrville Police Department will be in a position to do so in the first quarter of 2009. Even though these agencies will still be able to communicate with the Kerr County Sheriff's Office analog VHF repeater system, the Ken County Sheriff's Office will not be able to monitor them and be in a situation to quickly assist especially in officer safety situations or pursuits without Standards Based P-25 mobile/portable radios. The acquisition of the Standards Based P- 25 equipment would also insure interoperability when the Ken County Sheriff's Deputies respond to assist with emergencies anywhere in the AACOG region. NESSESARY ITEMS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED To meet the suggestions of The Texas Statewide Interoperability Channel Plan, (Change #9), dated June 24, 2008, the Kerr County Sheriff s Office needs to accomplish the following tasks: a. Upgrade all radio licenses with the FCC so that all the Sheriff's Office radio channels (basically five (5) channels) are licensed for wideband, nanowband, analog and digital. (In the Fall of 2008, Sheriff Hierholzer had Advantage Communications send in for these license upgrades. We have already received confirmation from FCC on some of these.) ITEMACCOMPLISHED. b. Upgrade all radio equipment, (mobiles, portables and dispatch), with P25 compliant equipment. This will be radios that dvill receive and transmit either analog or digital signals. (In the Fall of 2008, the Kerr County Sheriff's Office was awarded a State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) Grant in the amount of $90, 665.00 to be used toward the purchase of 25 mobile and 26 portable radios to be used by the patrol division and to temporarily upgrade the radio that dispatch uses to monitor the Kerrville Police Department. This equipment is currently on order and will be installed hopefully by May 2009.) An investment justification for 10 mobiles and 10 portables and a radio to be used permanently by dispatch to monitor and transmit to KPD was submitted to be reviewed (in early 2009) by the San Antonio Urban Area Public Safety Technology & Interoperability Communications Committee for the possible funding by 2009 UASI Grant monies. This justification was approved by this committee but was rejected for funding by the Executive Committee. Another SHSP Grant will be applied for in 2009 to replace the remaining 25 mobile and 25 portable radios (to include five (5) for Constables), and a radio to be used permanently by dispatch to monitor and transmit to KPD. This grant request will be approximately $100,000.00 and hopefully will be approved since it is the second half of the 2008 request. If approved, this equipment will not be acquired until 2010. ITEM % ACCDMPLISHED. c. The Kerr County Sheriff s Office dispatch infrastructure (tower repeaters, main dispatch equipment, etc.) will have to be upgraded from wideband to narrowband. This will have to be completed by January 1, 2013. Which basically means the equipment will need to be purchased out of the 2009-2010 budget or the 2010-2011 budget. This will allow for the equipment to be obtained and installed during 2012 and we will then meet the completion date. A proposed bid from Dailey-Wells Communications reflects a cost of $47,219.75 to upgrade the current radio system from wideband to narrowband. An investment justification for this expenditure was submitted to be reviewed (in early 2009) by the San Antonio Urban Area Public Safety Technology & Interoperability Communications Committee for the possible funding by 2009 UASI Grant monies. This request was denied as another request for equipment was selected. See paragraph "b" above. It is unknown at this time if there will be any other grant money available to pay for the narrow banding. That is why we believe that it would be prudent to plan to budget for this expense. POSSIBLE FUTURE ITEM TO BE ACCOMPLISHED. So far, the FCC has made no mandates or proposals that would require the Kerr County Sheriff's Office to switch our channels from an analog to a digital signal. Dailey-Wells Communications gave an estimate of 1 to 1.3 million to upgrade the 2 channel 4 site simulcast system to P25 digital. They have said that our overall coverage will remain the same or may improve slightly in the outer fringe areas. It would also do away with the interference due to the coverage overlap areas. As we have learned with digital telephones, either you will have a signal or you won't. Sheriff Hierholzer proposes that if we go to a digital signal that one channel be digital and the secondary channel remain analog until it is determined that a complete digital system will give us at least the same amount of coverage as we currently have. This item is for information only and is not considered an item to be accomplished during this plan.