The Palm Beach County 800 MHz Public Safety Radio System is migrating to an updated digital/encrypted P25 Radio System. The new County Radio System is expected to go live in the first quarter of 2017. The Police Department's existing radios have been declared "end of life" by the manufacturer, and will not operate when the P25 System goes live. The Police Department seeks to purchase P25 Digital Radios for the Sworn and Non-Sworn members of the Department requiring portable communication.
Project P25 (P25 or APCO-25) is a suite of standards for digital radio communications for use by federal, state/province, and local Public Safety organizations in North America to enable them to communicate with other agencies and mutual aid response teams in emergencies. The proposed Motorola P25 Radios meet all FCC and Homeland Security Public Safety Communications standards for Project 25 interoperability.
The City Council approved $840,000.00 for P25 Portable Radios in the Fiscal Year 2017 Capital Budget process. The Police Department seeks to piggyback off existing State of Florida Commodity Contract No. 725-500-12-1, which is valid from July 19, 2011, through June 29, 2017. The Contract was a competitively bid contract that serves many government users throughout the State of Florida.
The Police Department's three main goals to accomplish this project are as follows:
1. Replace a fleet of aging 800 MHz radios.
- Current radios released in 2003.
- Repair frequency greatly increased as wear and tear has taken its toll.
- Declared "end of life" by the manufacturer.
- Parts availability and support cease to continue.
2. Compliance with the P25 Standard for continued compatibility with the Palm
Beach County Radio System.
- The Palm Beach County Radio System is migrating to the nationally adopted P25 Digital Radio standard.
- Existing analog-only radios will cease to function.
3. Implement modern operational Radio security protocol.
RADIO RELIABILITY
- Current analog radios are very prone to interference. All forms of current static and noise are detrimental, and are often dangerous, during emergency communications. Digital radios do not have static.
- Digital radios perform with greater reliability due to error correction features and real time audio processing.
In order to ensure compatibility and optimal performance with the new P25 Palm Beach County Radio System, the Police Department recommends purchasing the Motorola APX Series P25 Portable Radios. The APX Series Radios provide a public safety class portable and mobile radio to meet the mission critical communication of the Department.
The Department seeks to purchase the following models and quantities:
- APX 6500 Modules - Quantity: 6
The purchase will also include all required accessories to include wireless microphones, spare batteries, battery chargers, and radio holders.
The total cost of this purchase is $743,588.80.
The Purchasing Department negotiated a trade-in value of $400.00 each for the existing radios in order to offset the total cost of the project.
All APX 6000 and APX 6500 Radios are covered under a three-year warranty.