Radio System Needs Assessment FINAL REPORT SUBMITTED JUNE 2017 TO: SHENANDOAH COUNTY, VIRGINIA TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................... 1 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 6 2. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................ 6 2.1. INITIAL MEETING ........................................................................................................................................... 6 2.2. PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY REPRESENTATIVE INTERVIEWS ................................................................................ 6 2.3. RADIO SITE SURVEYS ................................................................................................................................... 6 2.4. REPORT DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................................................................ 6 3. FINDINGS ............................................................................................................................................................ 7 3.1. TECHNICAL BASELINE ................................................................................................................................... 7 3.1.1. Current System Design ...................................................................................................................... 7 3.1.2. Coverage ............................................................................................................................................ 8 3.1.3. Capacity ............................................................................................................................................. 8 3.1.4. Subscriber Radios .............................................................................................................................. 8 3.1.5. Radio Sites ....................................................................................................................................... 10 3.1.6. Central Dispatch Center ................................................................................................................... 12 3.1.7. Equipment End of Life ...................................................................................................................... 12 3.1.8. System Resiliency and Single Points of Failure ............................................................................... 13 3.1.9. Connectivity/Backhaul ...................................................................................................................... 14 3.1.10. Interoperability .................................................................................................................................. 14 3.1.11. Maintenance ..................................................................................................................................... 15 3.1.12. User Agencies .................................................................................................................................. 15 4. ANALYSIS ......................................................................................................................................................... 16 4.1. COVERAGE................................................................................................................................................. 16 4.1.1. Shenandoah County Coverage ........................................................................................................ 17 4.2. CAPACITY .................................................................................................................................................. 17 4.2.1. Shenandoah County Capacity ......................................................................................................... 18 4.2.2. Loading for Trunking Systems ......................................................................................................... 18 4.3. INTEROPERABILITY ISSUES AND STANDARDS ................................................................................................ 19 4.3.1. DHS Security Guidance and Template ............................................................................................ 20 4.3.2. Interoperability Continuum ............................................................................................................... 21 4.4. RADIO SYSTEM TECHNOLOGIES .................................................................................................................. 23 4.4.1. Analog versus Digital ....................................................................................................................... 24 4.4.2. Project 25 ......................................................................................................................................... 24 4.4.3. Best Network Architecture Options for the County .......................................................................... 26 4.4.4. Conventional Simulcast .................................................................................................................... 26 4.4.5. Shared Systems ............................................................................................................................... 28 4.5. EMERGING COMMUNICATIONS ISSUES AND TRENDS ..................................................................................... 29 4.5.1. Long-Term Evolution and FirstNet ................................................................................................... 29 4.6. SYSTEM LIFECYCLES .................................................................................................................................. 29 4.6.1. Equipment Lifecycle ......................................................................................................................... 31 4.7. RADIO SITE RESILIENCE ............................................................................................................................. 31 Mission Critical Partners | i 4.7.1. Grounding ......................................................................................................................................... 32 4.7.2. Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) ................................................................................................ 32 4.8. FREQUENCY BANDS AND LICENSING CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................ 32 4.8.1. VHF High Band (150–160 MHz) ...................................................................................................... 32 4.8.2. UHF .................................................................................................................................................. 33 4.8.3. 700 MHz ........................................................................................................................................... 33 4.8.4. 800 MHz ........................................................................................................................................... 33 4.9. CONNECTIVITY ........................................................................................................................................... 34 4.9.1. Leased Phone Lines ........................................................................................................................ 34 4.9.2. Fiber-Optic Networks ....................................................................................................................... 34 4.9.3. Microwave ........................................................................................................................................ 35 5. RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 35 5.1. SYSTEM OPTIONS ....................................................................................................................................... 36 5.1.1. Option 1—Implementing a new UHF P25 conventional simulcast system (Recommended) .......... 37 5.1.2. Option 2—Implementing a new UHF P25 trunked simulcast system .............................................. 37 5.1.3. Flexible Procurement Process Recommendation ............................................................................ 38 5.1.4. System Coverage ............................................................................................................................. 39 5.1.5. System Capacity .............................................................................................................................. 39 5.1.6. Interoperability Features .................................................................................................................. 39 5.2. SUBSCRIBER RADIOS .................................................................................................................................. 40 5.2.1. Subscriber Radio Features .............................................................................................................. 40 5.3. CONSOLES ................................................................................................................................................