The following is a position paper I researched and provided a copy to Joe Gurley, the Wayne County Office of Emergency Services Director, for his use. We had a very good conversation, as always with Joe, he was appreciative of the points provided and assured me they will consider the questions asked. The point of all this is, it is my desire to support the requirements of the county for the best communications system we can afford, as is their desire. I assured Joe that I will be availiable to provide any assistance I can. I post the letter here just for information for folks that may desire to keep up with the on going development of the Wayne County communications system. Please read and if there are any comments or questions please send me an email or call and we can meet and talk.
POSITION PAPER ON STATE SUPPORTED VIPER COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
May 13, 2008
The National Governor's Association Center for Best Practices has identified interoperable communications as one of the nation's top ten homeland security priorities:
"Interoperability is a serious, pressing public safety problem that severely undermines the capacities of law enforcement, firefighters, and other first responders to respond to and manage emergency situations. The tragic events of September 11, 2001, focused attention on the urgent need for public safety and other agencies to communicate reliably and effectively with each other when called upon in a crisis."
The National Task Force on Interoperability defined interoperability as:
- the ability of public safety agencies to talk to one another via radio communication systems - to exchange voice and/or data with one another on demand, in real time, when needed.
Public safety officials in North Carolina should be able to communicate directly with other public safety officials without having to relay the message through a communications center.
When put in place, interoperable communications will benefit all public safety agencies when dealing with daily emergency calls or large scale disasters. This will make fire, rescue, and law enforcement agencies better able to serve the citizens of North Carolina.
CCPS Secretary Bryan Beatty, the state's homeland security director, has charged the Highway Patrol with developing and implementing two communications strategies; a short-term (Tactical) and long-term (Strategic) plan.
The Tactical communications solution is the implementation of 17 communications gateways across North Carolina to link disparate radio systems together as a temporary solution until the statewide Strategic plan can be implemented.
The Strategic communications solution is the construction of a statewide 800 MHz radio system that will provide interoperable communications for all public safety agencies in North Carolina.
The decision to implement VIPER as the interoperable radio communication system in North Carolina was made in conjunction with the state’s key local government and public safety associations.
Sec. Beatty consulted leaders of the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, the N.C. League of Municipalities, the Metropolitan Coalition, and the N.C. Sheriffs Association in making the decision to allocate a portion of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security funds to the project.
In addition, the Criminal Justice Information Network Governing Board, the Governor’s Crime Commission, and the State Emergency Response Commission – which includes representatives from state agencies and the Emergency Management Association, the Sheriff’s Association, the Police Chiefs Association, the Fire Chiefs Association, and the Emergency Medical Services Administrators – have identified interoperable communications as a priority for improved public safety in North Carolina.
Cost
· Statewide infrastructure, which includes 238 transmitter sites statewide, is estimated to cost $189 million over the build-out period of about four years.
· In an effort to reduce the overall cost of construction, the State Highway Patrol is acting as prime contractor and will manage the subcontractors.
· Approximately $87 million has been provided for VIPER through partnerships with local agencies using Homeland Security and other grants leaving a balance of $102 million.
Cost avoidance opportunities for local agencies
Since the state is building the VIPER infrastructure, local agencies at the city and county level will be able to upgrade their communications systems and achieve interoperability without major outlay for infrastructure. Example:
Granville County obtained quotes to build a new county 800 MHz communication system prior to participating in VIPER. The estimate was $3.2 million for the infrastructure alone. Now, by partnering with VIPER, they only need to purchase the radios. Cost savings to Granville County = $3.2 million.
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My comments and questions.
In April 2008 I communicated with the Granville County Emergency Management Coordinator, Doug Logan, he stated, “Granville County had spent $982,000 to bring their entire Emergency Responders into the VIPER system”. This cost was for items not funded by VIPER which were radios, pager system, etc. I have asked for and will provide a list of these expenses from Grandville County as soon as they are available. Mr. Logan added the comment that, “… in a world where communications interoperability between local, state and federal response agencies is of the utmost importance, it just makes good sense for our counties to participate in a statewide system which has been specifically designed for interoperability.”
Mr. Logan further added; “With Interoperable Communications as one of the target capabilities for state and federal grant agencies, Granville County took advantage of opportunities such as Homeland Security, Federal Assistance to Firefighters, NC Office of State Fire Marshal, NC Governor’s Crime Commission Criminal Justice Improvement, and Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention grant programs to purchase much of the needed equipment. Since the VIPER system infrastructure provided 95% in-street coverage, Granville County prioritized the purchase of subscriber units and provided each law enforcement officer, (county and municipal law enforcement) with one (1) portable unit, and each EMS unit with one (1) subscriber unit. Each agency was able to purchase mobile units for vehicles via local budget in a phased-in approach.
A “Mini-Grant” program was created for the fire services within the county in which funding in the amount required to purchase two (2) portable subscriber units was awarded to each department. This funding was provided to the fire departments at the same time as the NC Office of State Fire Marshal’s annual 50/50 matching grant was made available for that year. By applying for the radios through the state matching grant program and using the county’s mini-grant, the fire departments were able to purchase four (4) portable radios at no direct cost to the department. A later regional cooperative grant application to the “Federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant” provided additional portable and mobile units for all fire departments within the county for a 25% match from each department.”
The VIPER technology used for 800 MHz trunked radio systems does not allow for a paging solution. Since Wayne County requires a paging system they will have to continue to support their existing paging system. However, where available, tower space will be offered to VIPER participants on State Highway Patrol owned towers for local agency paging antennas.
The State has operating now a mobile data network available for county ERs. This network allows firefighters, EMTs and law enforcement officers to complete their necessary paper work in the field.
A statement was made in the News Argus by Delbert R. Edwards, Communication Supervisor for Wayne County Emergency Services, that for Wayne County to convert to VIPER would cost the County $14,000,000. I would like to see a complete itemized breakdown of these figures to see if he was talking apple to apples or maybe there is an unintentional orange in here somewhere. This estimate does not compute with the information provided by Granville County which, as I see it, had about the same requirements as Wayne County does. I fail to find the justification for Wayne County to tackle this technical communication problem alone when the state is willing to provide the entire infrastructure of the VIPER system and maintain it. While I recognize Wayne County commissioned an engineering study of our radio system and this study identified areas for improvement and suggested means to make those improvements. I feel there may be an unintentional bias there as the consultant may be providing the equipment recommended in the study and not giving proper consideration to the VIPER system as a means to solve part of the counties communication problems.
I use the following excerpt from the state final report: State of North Carolina: CJIN-VTN Task 7- Final Report, 14 Nov. 2002, Engagement: 220275940 on VIPER by Gartner Consultants, which applies to Wayne County even more so today as the state has learned technical lessons and applied them:
“The State has elected to pursue an in-house implementation strategy. PSWN (Public Safety Wireless Network), one of the leading federal government authorities on public-safety systems-planning best practices, makes the following observations with regards to this implementation approach: “When implementing a system using in-house resources, the planner assumes all risk, technical and otherwise, and in particular, all risk associated with achieving specified system performance. The planner must have acquired, or plan to acquire, all of the skills, tools, supplies, facilities, experience, and personnel necessary to implement the system. The technical risk is very high, and the financial risk is moderate.”
Interoperability between local, state and federal response agencies in communications is of the utmost importance to Wayne County. The national and state communication agencies have a much larger field of technical expertise to draw from than does Wayne County. In my estimation the VIPER system is being used across the state as a communication standard and Wayne County needs to get on-board, provide input and assistance as soon as possible.
Willie Ray Starling
EDUCATION
