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Motorola and RedTail present radio and dispatch upgrade plan; tower approval targeted for Nov. 12
Summary
Motorola Solutions, RedTail Communications and state partners held a design review for Daniels County’s public‑safety dispatch upgrade, outlining new consoles, spares, training and a plan to use a 150‑ft tower; vendors said Yellowstone County’s Nov. 12 meeting is scheduled to consider tower decommissioning/transfer needed for microwave backhaul.
Motorola Solutions and local integrator RedTail led a customer design review with Daniels County officials on Oct. 21 to outline a multi‑month public‑safety radio and dispatch upgrade.
Connie Cummings, Motorola’s project manager, opened the session and said the project will replace two legacy consoles with two MCC 7500E consoles, add a new equipment rack and logging recorder, and migrate the county to the state trunked system once the microwave backhaul is in place. Vendors emphasized procurement lead times and asked the county to confirm Motorola equipment so orders can be placed.
John Hogan, Motorola systems engineer, walked commissioners through equipment-room layouts, power and rack plans, and a sample test plan. RedTail’s Brian Mayus described the local integration and field‑support role his company will provide.
Tower and microwave: vendors discussed acquiring a 150‑ft, self‑supporting tower from Billings and moving it to Daniels County. Brian Mayus and state representatives said they expect the Yellowstone County commissioners to consider decommissioning and transfer approvals on Nov. 12; that decision will affect microwave equipment timelines. Vendors noted that decommissioning, crane lift and site foundation planning would follow approval.
Training and migration: Motorola committed to provide training for dispatch operators and supervisors at no additional cost to the county, and outlined a parallel testing plan so the new consoles can be tested without interrupting operations. Vendors recommended ordering spares (workstation, CC hubs, conventional gateways) to reduce downtime risk.
Next steps: commissioners requested final tower base dimension documents and asked vendors to circulate the equipment PDF and the R56 audit. Vendors asked the county to formally confirm the Motorola equipment list to avoid procurement delays; no financial approvals for state‑owned microwave equipment were finalized at the meeting.
