Morris County Approves $26 Million Emergency Communications Upgrade (NJ)

The Morris County Board of Freeholders approved a $26 million contract last night to upgrade and double the operating capacity of the emergency radio network and infrastructure relied upon daily by Morris County law enforcement, emergency management, and municipal first responders.

Extensive upgrades, improvements and even the relocation of some of the system’s infrastructure at 13 supporting sites are outlined under the contract approved with Motorola Solution, Inc., which also includes the addition of one new tower and supporting facilities to close coverage gaps…

Cleveland Police Dispatcher Fired, Accused Of Calling County Jail Inmates While On-Duty, ‘Gross Neglect Of Duty’ (OH)

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Cleveland police dispatcher was fired Friday after investigators learned he spoke with Cuyahoga County Jail inmates while one the clock and repeatedly disrespected his boss.

Cleveland Safety director Karrie Howard fired Charles McGeever after a police internal affairs investigation, city officials said in a statement issues late Friday. McGeever was hired in 1998…

FirstNet Authority board approves additional investments into 5G network core

FirstNet board members this week unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the FirstNet Authority staff to obligate reinvestment funds from AT&T to pay operations and maintenance costs associated with upgrading the FirstNet core to 5G during 2021 and in future years.

FirstNet Authority CEO Ed Parkinson said the measure—Resolution 108—will help the organization ensure that FirstNet remains a “state-of-the-art” system by funding a multi-phase upgrade to 5G that began with last year’s decision to authorization reinvestment money into 5G core development…

Polk County joins Joint Communications Center (NE)

Difficulty filling dispatch positions has led the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to join the Platte County Joint Communications Center in Columbus through a new interlocal agreement.

Polk County Sheriff Dwaine Ladwig said he has advertised for the dispatcher job, but after no one applied, Polk County had to begin looking at other options.

Polk County’s dilemma isn’t an anomaly. For years, numerous agencies around the country have reported difficulty filling emergency dispatcher positions… READ MORE

Commissioners Approve $2.4M Tower Agreement (IN)

Kosciusko County commissioners on Tuesday approved the communications service agreement between J&K Communications Inc. and the county for $2.4 million.

Terry Burnworth, with Pyramid Consulting, who has been working with the county on its communications project since April 2019, said the agreement includes the three new communication tower sites, all the RF equipment, the translation between the 700 megahertz and the VHF, six new consoles, a new recording system and “also we were able to negotiate into it 250 or more – I can’t even remember – of the LT devices for on your smartphone”…