County updates on P25 radio system: L3Harris optimization, ATP and coverage testing next; 95% coverage guarantee noted

County staff told the Commissioners Court that the county's P25 public-safety radio system is entering an optimization phase led by L3Harris factory engineers, with an Acceptance Test Plan (ATP) scheduled next week and countywide coverage testing to follow. "They have a factory team that is here, and they're gonna spend the week in, doing the optimization to make sure that all of the equipment's communicating properly into the best, reception possible," the County Judge said, describing the current work by L3Harris. Staff said the contractor's contract guarantees 95% coverage; if the system scores 94% the contractor must take additional steps to reach the 95% threshold. Staff reported that mobile radios are installed in many vehicles, that portable handhelds and control stations have been received and installed at some departments, and that programming is the next major step. Jeremy, Ron and Barry were repeatedly identified by court leadership as the county's technical team handling radio programming and testing. Officials said the testing plan includes a grid-based drive test across the county (the court heard an on-record description of a "1 mile" grid outside the town and a smaller grid for city limits described in the meeting), and in-building testing that breaks each floor into about 20 test grids where appropriate. After optimization, staff said the county will move to simulcast operations and then begin the 30-day burn-in following cutover. Staff also described operational details and constraints: some city police departments have not yet scheduled mobile installs because of space limitations in patrol vehicles and KCOM was identified as the vendor that will install required components in some mobiles. The court was told that a portion of the testing and operation will use encrypted traffic for law enforcement and fire, which limits access by outside agencies whose radios are not encrypted; staff said this encryption was an original design feature for security. The court heard reports about equipment vandalism and an incident at a county tower that left a deputy without radio connectivity because of a power loss at the tower; the deputy was later transported for medical attention, court officials said. Staff also said all radio traffic on the new system will be recorded and that the county will provide commissioners a smartphone-based app called Beyond that can access the radio system over LTE or Wi-Fi so officials can reach responders remotely. Officials set an internal target to attempt cutover around Sept. 30 and begin the 30-day burn-in thereafter, while noting the project is more than a year behind schedule and that delays have been caused by a mix of county and vendor issues. The court did not set a binding public deadline at the meeting; staff described Sept. 30 as a goal rather than a firm commitment. No formal vote was taken on the radio system update during the meeting; the discussion was presented as a workshop-style briefing and routine project update.