Kentucky State Police Selects New Motorola ASTRO® 25 Digital Radio System
System Can Operate in Both Digital, Analog Modes
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FRANKFORT, Ky--Motorola has been awarded a contract for a new $22.8 million ASTRO® 25 UHF statewide digital conventional two-way radio system that will serve the Kentucky State Police (KSP). The sophisticated system will replace the agency's UHF analog conventional system, purchased in the 1970s.
System installation is scheduled to begin during the second quarter of 2000 at Post 7 in Richmond that serves central Kentucky. Installation of the entire system is scheduled for completion by the third quarter of 2001. The new system uses communications technologies and is designed to provide the state police enhanced communications capabilities today as well as the communications platform to meet KSP communications challenges in the future.
The ASTRO 25 system platform will operate on "narrowband" or 12.5 kHz radio channels. By making the transition to a narrowband technology, the Kentucky State Police communications system will comply with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandate for spectrum "refarming." Refarming refers to the FCC requirement that public-safety two-way radio systems be capable of operating on 12.5 kHz channels, rather than the 25 kHz channels that are commonly used today. The narrower channels also effectively create more channels for agency use.
The Kentucky State Police system will allow transmission on two new digital channels and one existing analog channel at each of its system's 97 sites. The system will use multicast technology to provide improved wide area coverage. With multicast technology, the communications signal is broadcast from a number of transmitters, with each transmitter on a different frequency. A software program called Conventional Vote Scan enables the system's mobile and portable radios to automatically select that site that provides the strongest signal to receive communications, and then transmits messages back on a common frequency. The software also helps control the audio quality of all transmissions.
The Kentucky State Police system will consist of 208 ASTRO Quantar™ base stations plus 1,250 ASTRO Spectra® mobile radios with status messaging for in-vehicle use. In addition, 857 ASTRO Vehicular Repeater System (VRS) units and 50 ASTRO XTS 3000™ "ruggedized" digital portable radios will operate on the new system. Dispatchers at each of the 16 Kentucky State Police Command Posts will monitor the radio system from CENTRACOM Gold Series™ Elite consoles.
The mobile and portable radios also use Motorola FLASHport™ technology, which will enable the KSP to alter a radio's features and capabilities by changing its software.
The new system is compliant with the Project 25 digital standard for public-safety radio systems. Project 25 is the functional and technical standard for public-safety digital two-way radios adopted in 1995 by a consortium of two-way radio user groups.