Prince William County, Va. — The communication system used by first responders in Prince William County could soon get an upgrade.
County officials want to replace the radio system used by county police, fire and rescue personnel, public schools, sheriff’s office and jail with a new system guaranteed to last 15 years. It comes with a $16 million contract price tag with nearly $6 million in incentives worked into the deal, according to county documents.
The Prince William County Board of Supervisors is expected to be briefed on the new system at their public meeting Tuesday.
In addition to agencies in Prince William County, Dumfries, Haymarket, Quantico and Occoquan will also use the system.
The new radio system, which could be implemented by the lower of two current bidding compaines, Motorola, will improve radio communication inside of buildings on the eastern and extreme western sides of the county, documents state. The new system would also include two new base towers to improve the radio system’s transmission abilities.
The county’s current radio system was installed in 1999 and was guaranteed a lifespan of 15 years. It will no longer be supported by its manufacturer in 2013, and county officials hope to have a new system in place by the end of its guaranteed lifespan.
County documents don’t address an option of encrypting the radio system to shield communications from public ears. If county officials do encrypt its radio frequencies, they will follow suit with neighboring Stafford Count which last year hushed police communications, preventing residents from monitoring the sheriff’s department’s actions and from getting up to the minute information about road closures over the public airwaves.
