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County 911 presenter says P25 radio towers and dispatch equipment are installed; FCC licensing pending
Summary
Presenter Troy Gaten told commissioners the county's P25 public-safety radio towers and microwave links are installed, dispatch console equipment installation begins this week, many radios have been updated, licensing with the FCC is pending after a minor interference correction, and the system will be activated once frequency approval is returned.
Troy Gaten gave commissioners a technical update on the county's P25 public-safety radio buildout, saying that towers and microwave links are installed and that most radios across fire and law agencies are being updated.
"Everything's installed on the towers. Towers are up. They're completed. Uh we're waiting on licensing right now. Uh it's in the FCC's hands," Gaten said, noting officials corrected a minor interference frequency issue and have resubmitted the license application.
Gaten said dispatch console equipment installation is starting this week and that staff have received a server rack and will begin assembling consoles at the dispatch center. He said the county has tied its system into Southeast Shelby County sites to create a broad coverage ring and that a dark-fiber link from the new courthouse to Birmingham City Hall provides additional redundancy.
He described technical benefits for responders: "When you key a radio up in Chilton County, you light up every every one of those towers once ours are online with the frequencies," Gaten said, adding that radios will be standardized so personnel moving between departments can use radios interchangeably.
The presenter acknowledged implementation steps remain. He said some radios are still being updated (batteries and programming), that console installation and testing will take time, and that the county plans transition procedures to maintain legacy communications during the cutover.
Why this matters: The P25 upgrade aims to standardize radios across volunteer fire departments, law enforcement and dispatch, improve interoperability with Shelby County and the state system, and add redundant fiber connectivity to reduce single-point failures. Funding for the project was reported as largely from ARPA money.
Next steps: Gaten said the county will switch on sites after FCC licensing is finalized and when staff move into the new courthouse and dispatch center; no activation date was given in the meeting.
