Keith County advances multi-year radio upgrade, opts for DMR and FirstNet fallback

County emergency management and communications staff updated commissioners Feb. 11 on a long-running radio modernization project that they said has become materially less expensive than early estimates.

Jordan, who manages technical integration, said the county is moving to a digital mobile radio (DMR) system, consolidating paging frequencies and installing repeaters and antennas salvaged from county inventory to expand coverage. "We're moving to a DMR system," Jordan said. "Once they are touched and the DMR is put in, then anytime we need to do any programming ... we can do it from a computer anywhere."

Staff said they purchased an over-the-air programming system and must manually touch each of roughly 200 portable and mobile radios initially, but thereafter programming updates will be remote. To improve EMS connectivity, staff plan to integrate AT&T FirstNet devices so crews can use cellular links if local infrastructure or internet at the Emergency Operations Center fails.

Commissioners discussed costs and whether to standardize radio makes and models to avoid operational confusion during emergencies. Staff suggested keeping a small number of higher-capability radios available for mutual-aid incidents while issuing a more economical model for routine road and volunteer use.

No formal spending appropriation was approved at the meeting; staff said some payments for work in progress are expected but that the overall funding situation remains under control.