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County outlines plan to close public-safety radio gaps; looks to FirstNet/LTE integration
Summary
IT and emergency communications staff told supervisors the county's hybrid ENGINE public-safety radio system meets industry norms for most agencies but has portable coverage gaps in Big Sur and other remote areas. Staff proposed a capital improvement plan, in‑building standards and experimenting with LTE/FirstNet integration; the board approved the county's draft response to the Civil Grand Jury and asked staff to emphasize FirstNet avenues.
Monterey County information-technology and emergency-communications staff presented a multi-part plan June 23 to address coverage gaps in the county’s public-safety radio network (known as ENGINE). The board approved the county’s draft response to the Civil Grand Jury’s emergency radio coverage report and directed staff to add language emphasizing potential FirstNet/LTE solutions.
Deputy Chief Information Officer Alex Jeang told the board the county's hybrid system — a digital P25 network complemented by analog channels — performs at or above industry norms for mobile coverage for most participating agencies, but portable and in‑building coverage remains weak in specific remote and complex-terrain locations. Jeang identified the largest deficiency areas as Big Sur, parts of the unincorporated county (including Ragged Point, Palo Colorado and other ridgelines), and some pockets in southcounty unincorporated areas.
ITD’s proposed actions include: - Adopting in‑building coverage standards and providing implementation guidance to agencies; - Executing a capital improvement plan to add towers and optimize digital coverage in targeted gaps; - Continuing targeted site adjustments (examples cited included Glendon, Pedrazas/Palancas and Lobos Ridge); - Piloting LTE/FirstNet integration (Motorola SmartConnect and similar solutions) to augment coverage without requiring hundreds of new radio tower sites; and - Helping fire districts secure grant funding and procurement support for radio handsets and lifecycle management.
Jeang said LTE/FirstNet integration could be the most cost‑efficient path to significant coverage improvements in rugged areas, but it requires some agencies to transition handsets to models compatible with LTE integration and may require agency-specific funding for new subscriber equipment.
Board members asked staff to explicitly include the potential FirstNet/LTE integration in the county’s response to the grand jury and to work with the ENGINE governance boards on funding and procurement support. The board approved staff’s draft response with the requested language additions and directed staff to return with implementation details and outreach plans for the fire districts that need upgraded subscriber equipment.
What’s next: ITD will produce the coverage-improvement plan requested by the Civil Grand Jury, work with the ENGINE governance boards, pursue capital improvements where feasible and expand feasibility work on LTE/FirstNet integration. The board asked for follow-up reporting and inclusion of FirstNet options in the final response filing.
