Pennsylvania agencies standardize on 800 MHz

For the past five years, Pennsylvania has been upgrading the communications systems state agencies use, with the goal of making the systems interoperable. On Sept. 11, after a plane crashed into a field southeast of Pittsburgh, it became frighteningly clear how valuable the new system will be.

"I was in the emergency operations center shortly after the incident in New York and was there most of the night. I think everyone at that point was stressing the importance this system will have going forward," says Charlie Gerhards, Pennsylvania's CIO. "From an emergency management perspective, having our state police be able to communicate directly with the Department of Transportation, the Department of Environmental Protection, all of the other 22 state agencies, has enormous value."

Like most states, Pennsylvania's system of radio communication had developed in departmental silos, with a range of frequencies and technologies that made communication across departments nearly impossible. In 1996, then-Gov. Tom Ridge saw an opportunity to create a unified system. About $222 million has been allocated for planning and construction of the system.

The state settled on an 800-MHz digital trunked network using radio technology from M/A-COM, a division of Tyco Electronics. The software-based radio system, called Open Sky, uses technology based on TCP/IP and Cellular Digital Packet Data, a data transfer technology that moves packets at speeds up to 19.2K bit/sec.

Alcatel's microwave technology is being used to link 250 radio towers across the state into a comprehensive network, a spokesman says. The system will support 25,000 users, but is designed to handle more than 100,000, the state says. The radio channel bandwidth is 20 KHz.

Because it is IP-based, the Open Sky system can carry not only voice, but also data. That means responders in the field can link into legacy mainframes and other information sources, if necessary, Gerhards says. The system also can incorporate global positioning system capabilities and will provide encryption for secure communications.

Pennsylvania now has about 500 state police vehicles equipped with the Open Sky system and expects to have the system rolled out to about 25% of the state agencies by the end of the summer. Final rollout is expected to be completed by year-end.

— Jennifer Mears

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Contact Senior Writer Jennifer Mears

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