The Project 25 Technology Interest Group has recognized the Miami Dade County P25 System as "P25 System of the Month". 

The system of the month is a new feature for the Project25.org WEB site.

If you are interested is submitting a P25 system for consideration, please reply to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

 P25 System of the Month Miami Dade pdf for upload

Project 25 Technology Interest Group

P25 System of the Month

Miami-Dade County FL

Cindy Cast, Radio Systems Manager

Miami-Dade County has one of the nation’s largest 800 MHz/700 MHz. Project 25 (FDMA phase I) radio telecommunications systems. The Harris P25 system supports both government and Public Safety operations for multiple agencies including:

• Miami-Dade Police Department
• Miami-Dade Fire Rescue
• Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department
• Miami-Dade Transit
• Miami-Dade Public Works and Waste Management
• Miami-Dade Water and Sewer
• Miami-Dade Airports
• Miami-Dade Seaport
• Miami-Dade County Public Schools
• 29 Municipalities in the region

In addition to these local agencies, numerous state, federal, and tribal agencies depend on this P25 system for day-to-day communication among first responders, and for coordinated multi-agency response to natural disasters and special events. The systems are used daily for regular operational work within the County, the International Airport, the Port of Miami (Cruises and Cargo Ships), and day-to-day events in this large metropolitan area. They are used during large sporting events such as in the Sun Life Stadium for the NFL Miami Dolphins Football games and in the Marlins Park for the MLB Miami Marlins Baseball games.

The P25 radio systems cover the entire Miami-Dade County geographical area and service over 95 agencies/departments with over 30,000 active radio devices. On a monthly basis there are over 5 million transmissions processed by the radio systems. Miami-Dade County self maintains the radio administration, infrastructure, terminal unit repairs, installations, and interoperability with agencies. The Radio Communications Services Division has 51 employees dedicated to support these functions.

Background

On August 6, 2004, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a report and order to modify its rules governing the 800 MHz band stating that public safety and other radios systems occupying the 800 MHz band were experiencing radio frequency interference as a result of the growth in adjacent commercial bands. The order required its users, including Miami-Dade County, to reconfigure operations by engaging in a frequency swap known as rebanding. On January 28, 2010 the Board of County Commissioners (Board) approved a Resolution waiving the formal bid procedures to authorize the execution of a settlement agreement with Nextel South Corporation and a purchase agreement with Harris Corporation to address the FCC mandate. The rebanding effort as required by FCC and the ensuing agreements provided the County with a change from the EDACS proprietary trunked technology to a P25 open source, state of the art radio communications systems. The project was completed in two tasks.

Build-Out

The first task of this project was successfully completed by the end of December 2012 which consisted of a 20-channel P25 trunked simulcast system. The users of this system consist of non-law enforcement agencies and departments (i.e. OEM, Fire Rescue, Schools, and Transit). As part of this task, a Harris P25 Inter RF Subsystem Interface (ISSI) was configured to work with a Motorola P25 ISSI connected to a County owned 450 MHz conventional system. These ISSI connections provide access to additional radios to connect to the system. The second task of this project was completed by November 2014 which consisted of a P25 20-channel P25 trunked simulcast system and several mutli-site systems. These systems have law-enforcement agencies and departments.

Aggressive Schedule Met On-Time

This project was completed on schedule even with the magnitude and complexity of mobilizing thousands of users across Miami-Dade County. It consisted of coordinating and planning the installation of antennas, support systems, upgrading electrical systems, physically reprogramming an estimated 30,000 radios, training users and having to resolve a multitude of challenges along the way. This project impacted the entire base of law enforcement and general government agencies which were transitioned to the new P25 infrastructure in a period of less than four years since the resolution was approved in January 2010.

Success Factors

Rigorous planning and commitment from all agencies/vendors working as a team, resulted in a successful cut-over.  Extensive user training was one of the critical factors leading up to the success of the project. There are distinct differences with the audio characteristics and functionality of an analog and a digital system. To address this, multiple types of training sessions were provided (i.e. one-on-one, group, roll-call meetings, and overview meetings) along with a 24/7 call center for questions (during and after cutover) and a quick-reference training pamphlets distributed to the users.

Results

Users of the new P25 systems have expressed a high level of satisfaction. The systems are currently successfully processing millions of calls each month.

To see how your P25 System can be nominated as a P25 System of the Month

Contact:

Stephen Nichols

Director Project 25 Technology Interest Group

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Arlington, VA (August 18, 2015) – The Project 25 Technology Interest Group (PTIG), and The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), the leading association representing the manufacturers and suppliers of high-tech communications networks, announced a Friendship Agreement to facilitate communication regarding standards development for interoperable radio communications systems and equipment for public safety.

A video of the signing Interview with Del Smith PTIG chairman, Steve Nichols PTIG Director, and Stephanie Montgomery Vice President of Technology and Standards for TIA can be viewed at: TIANOW.org or by clicking this   link 

Del Smith, Operations Manager for Alaska Land Mobile Radio Communications and Chairman of Project 25 Technology Interest Group, said: “P25 technology has been very instrumental in the advances in public safety communications and interoperability we have seen over the years. The PTIG was formed to further this technology by educating people about the importance of the P25 standard. By providing a forum for vendors and the public safety communications community, PTIG will continue to inform TIA’s technical work to further build on and improve the P25 standard.”

Steve Nichols, Director of Project 25 Technology Interest Group, said: “P25 was created in a way that allows a very flexible type of deployment – from small municipalities to large statewide systems – because it was based on users’ needs. PTIG works with TIA to communicate this technology to the users – the patrol officers and the firefighters – so they can understand and provide input into the technical process, as well as to promote the use of the P25 technologies to advance interoperable public safety communications. We look forward to continuing this work with TIA to expand and improve this important technology.”

Stephanie Montgomery, Vice President of Technology and Standards for TIA, said: “Today, the P25 standard for interoperable public safety communications is a robust technology solution deployed in more than 80 countries. Part of what makes this standard a success is that the technical work is informed by the user community and PTIG. This input and feedback allows TIA to address the specific needs of public safety communications professionals and advance the technology. TIA and PTIG’s friendship agreement recognizes and encourages this invaluable information sharing relationship to further develop and improve this critical communications standard.”

The Project 25 Technology Interest Group (PTIG) is a non profit organization made up of individuals and organizations who share the mutual interest of advancing the refinement, development, deployment, and applications of the digital communications technology represented by Project 25 industry standards.. The P25 standard was developed by state, local and federal representatives and is governed by TIA’s Mobile and Personal Private Radio Standards Engineering Committee (TR-8). Radio equipment that demonstrates compliance with the P25 standard is able to meet a set of minimum requirements for public safety needs. Public safety agencies around the world depend on P25 for their mission critical communications.

As an American National Standards Institute-accredited standard development organization, TIA develops design and manufacturing standards for digital voice and data communications systems suited for public safety and first responder applications. Specifically, TIA has developed a series of standards (TIA-102) for Project 25 (P25), which enables interoperability among multiple manufacturers’ products designed to the P25 standard.

PTIG Website Events Calendar Updated for August 2015

Check out the details posted for the PTIG Annual Meeting and Elections; and for P25 Topics featured at APCO 2015. 

They are both coming up next week August 16 - 19 in Washington DC. 

See It ALL HERE.

P25 Standards Update and Meeting Notes from the TIA TR-8 June Meetings in Seattle are now available on the Project 25 Technology Interest Group WEB site.

The Report is divided into two sections.  The first is a TR-8 update by Andy Davis, TIA TR8 chairman. This section highlights TR-8 accomplishments and work in progress for 2015. The document will be updated after every TR-8 face to face meeting occurring in 2015. Each update uses blue font to indicate the updates.  

The Second section is by Jim Downes, P25 Steering Committee Chairman. This report provides information gathered from a series of meetings held by the following groups during the week of June 23-25, 2015, in Seattle, Washington

• Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) Mobile and Personal Private Radio Standards Committee (TR‑8) and ten of its subcommittees
• Association of Public Safety Communications Officials–International (APCO) Project 25 (P25) Interface Committee (APIC) and two of its task groups
• Private Radio Section (PRS)
• P25 User Needs Subcommittee (UNS)
• P25 Steering Committee (SC)

The report can be reviewed and uploaded using the link below:

P25 Standards Update and Meeting Notes from TIA TR-8 June Meetings Seattle WA