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Van Zandt County to end legacy VHF tower leases as it shifts to P25 radios; pager service renewed for 2026–27
Summary
County staff told commissioners the county has migrated to a P25 digital radio system and many county radios are single-band; the court authorized terminating two older VHF tower leases and renewed a pager-service contract for volunteer firefighters while departments develop a long-term alerting plan.
Van Zandt County Commissioners Court on May 20 approved termination of two long-standing VHF tower leases and renewed an interim pager-service contract while the county completes its migration to a P25 digital radio system.
County staff explained the technical change: the county has implemented a P25 digital system that provides overlapping coverage and resilience when a single site is out of service; many county radios purchased recently are single-band P25 units and cannot receive VHF. "We have now implemented our own, it's called a P25. It's a digital radio service... and so now we are on our P25 radio system," a county staff member said during the discussion.
Because the county is no longer routinely broadcasting VHF, staff recommended giving Titan Towers LP and Crossroads Communications 90-day notices to terminate two legacy tower leases (one near Athens, one near Wills Point). Commissioners approved the terminations; the judge said one lease was roughly $600/month and the other $400/month, producing about $1,000 monthly savings.
The court also approved a one-year renewal of pager service with Mobile Communication Services (roughly $13,900—4,000 per year) to ensure volunteer firefighters receive notifications in areas with poor cellular coverage while a longer-term approach is developed. Commissioners directed a chiefs' meeting and follow-up to evaluate replacement options and further reduce reliance on antiquated pager technology.
Next steps: County IT/Emergency Communications staff will issue 90-day termination notices, coordinate equipment removal if necessary and report back on operational impacts; Emergency Services/Dispatch will convene fire chiefs to draft a multi-year paging/cell strategy and report to the court.
