Radio Upgrades Should Solve DC`s Coverage Problems

The City of Washington, DC, has completed a radio upgrade that-on paper at least-should improve above-ground radio connectivity for EMS, fire and police.

Using $36.6 million granted by Congress, the District has added six new radio towers, bringing its total to 10. All of these towers are now equipped with Motorola ASTRO 800 MHz transmitters for fire and EMS (FEMS), plus 460 MHz analog transmitters to improve connectivity to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

The before and after maps shown below illustrate how above-ground radio reception has been improved in DC.

"We initially conducted extensive propagation tests to get a realistic view of our coverage needs," explains Rick Burke, project manager for DC's Public Safety Radio Network Implementation Project. "From there, we worked with the city's police, fire and EMS to determine the best places for the new tower sites."

In addition, a Motorola Zone Controller switch has been installed at the District's Public Safety Communications Center (PSCC) at 310 McMillian Drive NW. The Zone Controller automatically interconnects calls between the MPD's existing 460 MHz system and FEMS' 800 MHz radios.

"With this switch, we all are operating on the same network, even if we are using different radio frequencies," says Suzanne Peck, DC's chief technology officer. The result is virtual interoperability-DC's first responders can now talk to each other, even though they're using different radio equipment and frequencies.

Beyond these upgrades, OCTO has upgraded 63 FEMS cars and trucks to serve as Vehicular Repeater Systems (VRS).

"Each unit is equipped with an 800 MHz transceiver that can punch FEMS signals into buildings," Burke says.

Initially deployed as a stopgap while the new towers were being built, the VRS now provide backup radio coverage at all fire scenes.

"The buildings in Washington are quite thick," notes Peck. "Often, signals couldn't get through them. This is why we are deploying at least one VRS to every fire scene."

This said, the dead zones within Washington's subway systems and building basements remain a problem for FEMS and MPD officers. Metrorail's 66 miles of tunnels present a particular challenge-neither FEMS nor MPD have any real radio coverage in the subway to speak of. At best, they can get calls out using commercial cell phones-a technology that is all too vulnerable to terrorist attack.

Only time will tell if these upgrades have actually solved all of DC's public safety radio problems. In 2001, DC Fire Chief Ronnie Few (who has since resigned) told The Washington Post that the system needed 19 towers to perform properly. At the time, Few blamed his department's radio problems on underfunding. Initially, the DCFD switch to digital radio was supposed to cost $60 million, but it was subsequently slashed to $5.3 million.

"Someone tried to get away with less, and that's why we have this [problem] now," Chief Few told the Post in August 2001.