The move to an encrypted P25 system ensures interoperability with the city of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County response agencies, which had been compromised with the LMR system. P25 is a slate of interoperability standards for digital two-way radios, developed to facilitate interoperability between various agencies and jurisdictions that are using different systems that don’t communicate with each other.
Carnegie Mellon had been using the existing system on a high-frequency UHF band when communicating with field personnel who were in patrol cars, on bikes and motorcycles, and on foot. The performance issues usually occurred at the edge of the system’s coverage and in structures, including classrooms and dorms. The new system will provide stronger and clearer communications and extend the coverage area.
The project will also address the issues with in-building coverage.
The deployment is being led by Mission Critical Partners (MCP), which did an assessment and report of the old system last year. Numerous recommendations were made after the assessment, and MCP provided guidance on multiple improvements that the department is seeking.
University Police Chief Aaron Lauth said he was able to use the findings of that report to secure the funding needed to modernize the radio system.
“The land mobile radio arguably is the most important tool that emergency responders use,” Darrin Reilly, MCP president, said in a statement. “Such devices, whether in their vehicles or carried on their person, enable emergency responders to do their jobs more effectively and safely.”
