Radio Case Study - Airbus DS Commairbus-dscomm.com/pdf/Lexington-cs.pdf · department had a...
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Part of Kentucky’s Bluegrass region, the city of Lexington is home to 310,000 people and is the largest city in the 1,400 square- mile Lexington-Fayette metropolitan area. For the first time in Lexington’s history, its public safety personnel—police, fire and corrections—can communicate seamlessly and effectively over the same radio system thanks to Airbus DS Communications’ VESTA™ Radio P25 land mobile radio (LMR) solution. THE NEED FOR INTEROPERABILITY Prior to installing the VESTA Radio solution, Lexington’s police department had a 40-year-old VHF analog system that could not communicate with the city’s fire or jail system. Interoperability was out of the question. In fact, the only means for “interoperability” between departments was to place multiple radios in each police car and firetruck, forcing first responders to communicate through each department’s separate radio system. The lack of true interoperability plagued the city during emergencies, such as the Comair Flight 5191 airplane crash in 2006. First responders from the surrounding area raced to the scene but quickly realized they were at a major disadvantage because the city’s local police and fire departments could not easily and effectively communicate with each other. To compound the issue, the Blue Grass Airport, where the plane crashed, had a separate radio system, resulting in radios being physically passed around and shared between multiple departments. THE SOLUTION It was clear: the city needed an open-standards compliant LMR system to unite its public safety departments and the Blue Grass Airport through shared resources. In the summer of 2012, Lexington turned to Airbus DS Communications’ VESTA Radio to connect its police, fire and jail system, along with the Blue Grass Airport. “Having everyone on the same system and the ability to communicate at the touch of a button is a major leap for public safety,” said Robert Stack, Director of Enhanced 9-1-1 in Lexington. “Importantly, we were able to tailor the system to our needs.” The digital, trunked VESTA Radio system is the industry’s only true, non-proprietary P25 solution. The open standards infrastructure provided Lexington the flexibility to purchase components on the open market and assemble the best system at the best price. This meant the city was able to purchase different radios for the different needs of police, fire and corrections. The city’s new LMR system includes approximately 1,500 radios between the three entities. The new network and equipment also provided greater coverage and reliability over the legacy analog system, and exceeded coverage requirements of the initial plan. For instance, first responders would have a radio signal when heading into buildings but often had difficulty communicating while inside of them. So it was important to thoroughly test the new VESTA Radio system to A CITY UNITED UNDER P25 LMR CRITICAL MATTERS ™ ™ Radio Case Study CASE STUDY/ LEXINGTON, KY
Transcript of Radio Case Study - Airbus DS Commairbus-dscomm.com/pdf/Lexington-cs.pdf · department had a...
Part of Kentucky’s Bluegrass region, the city of Lexington is home to 310,000 people and is the largest city in the 1,400 square-mile Lexington-Fayette metropolitan area. For the first time in Lexington’s history, its public safety personnel—police, fire and corrections—can communicate seamlessly and effectively over the same radio system thanks to Airbus DS Communications’ VESTA™ Radio P25 land mobile radio (LMR) solution.
THE NEED FOR INTEROPERABILITY Prior to installing the VESTA Radio solution, Lexington’s police department had a 40-year-old VHF analog system that could not communicate with the city’s fire or jail system. Interoperability was out of the question. In fact, the only means for “interoperability” between departments was to place multiple radios in each police car and firetruck, forcing first responders to communicate through each department’s separate radio system.
The lack of true interoperability plagued the city during emergencies, such as the Comair Flight 5191 airplane crash in 2006. First responders from the surrounding area raced to the scene but quickly realized they were at a major disadvantage because the city’s local police and fire departments could not easily and effectively communicate with each other. To compound the issue, the Blue Grass Airport, where the plane crashed, had a separate radio system, resulting in radios being physically passed around and shared between multiple departments.
THE SOLUTIONIt was clear: the city needed an open-standards compliant
LMR system to unite its public safety departments and the Blue Grass Airport through shared resources. In the summer of 2012, Lexington turned to Airbus DS Communications’ VESTA Radio to connect its police, fire and jail system, along with the Blue Grass Airport.
“Having everyone on the same system and the ability to communicate at the touch of a button is a major leap for public safety,” said Robert Stack, Director of Enhanced 9-1-1 in Lexington. “Importantly, we were able to tailor the system to our needs.”
The digital, trunked VESTA Radio system is the industry’s only true, non-proprietary P25 solution. The open standards infrastructure provided Lexington the flexibility to purchase components on the open market and assemble the best system at the best price. This meant the city was able to purchase different radios for the different needs of police, fire and corrections. The city’s new LMR system includes approximately 1,500 radios between the three entities.
The new network and equipment also provided greater coverage and reliability over the legacy analog system, and exceeded coverage requirements of the initial plan. For instance, first responders would have a radio signal when heading into buildings but often had difficulty communicating while inside of them. So it was important to thoroughly test the new VESTA Radio system to
A CITY UNITED UNDER P25 LMR
CRITICAL MATTERS™
™ Radio Case Study
CASE STUDY/ LEXINGTON, KY
ensure first responders could communicate anywhere at any time. The radios were tested in open fields, heavily wooded areas, city buildings, country farms, and even in the middle of rivers—all with strong, clear communication.
“In today’s public safety environment, it is imperative we have the tools to quickly and reliably communicate with each other in a crisis,” said Lexington Blue Grass Airport Director of Public Safety and Operations Scott Lanter. “With our new VESTA™ Radio system, we can immediately share information to ensure everyone is on the same page, allowing us to successfully render the situation safe.”
THE OPEN PROCUREMENT PROCESSKey to Lexington’s successful implementation was using the open procurement process. Open procurement meant that each agency could select the radio brand and model that worked best for them, instead of being backed into a corner with a single vendor.
Thanks to VESTA Radio’s open, standard-compliant P25 architecture, the city was able to confidently incorporate radios, network components and backend equipment from a number of different manufacturers because officials knew the components would work together.
Ultimately through this process, Lexington built a seamless system—and at the right price for each agency involved.
“Procuring an LMR system is a complex process,” added Stack. “It was refreshing to work at a high level of trust with Airbus DS Communication. The project was a major undertaking, and there was always a sense of cooperation to accomplish our goals and address any issues that arose.”
YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER Your community trusts you to protect them, and that means more than just using the right equipment. It means having a trusted partner in public safety communications. That partner is Airbus DS Communications, where your CRITICAL MATTERS™.
As the world’s largest and most reliable source for Next Generation 9-1-1, Land Mobile Radio and Emergency Notification, we keep people connected when it matters most. For more than four decades, Airbus DS Communications has designed solutions with an open mind, creating smarter ways to keep all our communities safe. Today, we support more than 60 percent of all U.S. Public Safety Answering Points—helping protect more than 200 million people—as well as Federal and U.S. Department of Defense operations globally, and hundreds of private sector businesses in 20+ different industries, including transportation, utilities and healthcare.
To learn more, call 951.719.2100 or visit us online at www.Airbus-DSComm.com.
CRITICAL MATTERS™
BEST PRACTICES FOR SELECTING AN LMR SYSTEM
• Start the research and procurement process with a clean slate without favoring a particular niche feature or vendor.
• Have vendors clarify what elements are proprietary and if any features limit selection of handheld and mobile radios.
• Take time to thoroughly research the true needs of each department that will use the new system.
• Do not underestimate the time investment for implementation, including locating and acquiring tower sites.
• Allow personnel from all agencies to test the new radios and system in their environment.
• Conduct field acceptance testing with personnel from all agencies, which cultivates support of the system and introduces its capabilities and new radio features.
PROJECT PROFILE
SOLUTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . VESTA™ Radio
START DATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summer 2012
CUTOVER DATE . . . . . . . . . . . . .Spring 2014
INFRASTRUCTURE COST . . . . . $5.0 million
Copyright © 2015 Airbus DS Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. This literature is for informational purposes only. All trademarks, service marks, product names, brands, company names and logos appearing in this literature are the property of their respective owners. This literature is provided “AS IS” without warranty of any kind. Airbus DS Communications hereby disclaims all warranties and conditions with regard to this literature, including all express and implied warranties.08
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