Dinwiddie County, Virginia Radio System Needs Assessment and Recommendations Report

Transcription

1 Dinwiddie County, Virginia Radio System Report April 28, 2017 Prepared by: Federal Engineering, Inc Arrowhead Dr, Suite 160 Fairfax, VA

2 Executive Summary The Dinwiddie County (County) Emergency Communications Center (ECC) handles all emergency calls from within Dinwiddie County and dispatches County Fire, County Emergency Medical Services (EMS), County Sheriff, and Animal Control. Also, the ECC monitors and dispatches Richard Bland College (after 5pm), and has access to Virginia State Interdepartmental Radio System (SIRS), Chesterfield County, and the Virginia COMLINC system (using the RIOS Radio Interoperability Systems). The ECC is already in the process of updating systems supporting call taking, computer aided dispatch (CAD) and records management. However, the radio system equipment is at end-of-life and will soon reach the end of support from the current radio vendor. Also, due to the age of the radio system, interoperability with surrounding counties, and mutual aid partners is made more difficult (or impossible) as others upgrade and replace their radio systems. The County wanted to ensure that the radio system upgrades or replacements meet current and future needs, conform to the latest industry standards and best practices, improve interoperability with surrounding counties and mutual aid partners, and position the County to facilitate meeting future requirements. Accordingly, the County engaged Federal Engineering, Inc. (FE) to provide consulting services for the upgrade or replacement of the Public Safety Radio Communications System including Fire Station Alerting and paging. The County s primary goal for this project is to design, procure, and implement a radio system to support public safety. A secondary goal is for the procured system to be expandable for use by public service entities in the County. Through the collection and analysis of existing system data, onsite interviews with user agencies, and physical site surveys, FE evaluated each of the existing systems, identified system needs and requirements, and subsequently evaluated two system alternatives which met the defined needs and requirements. The alternatives consisted of 1) a County standalone system, or 2) joining/sharing an existing system deployed in an adjacent county. A summary of our findings and recommendations follows. Current Radio System The County s current radio system is a VHF ( MHz) 4-channel, 4-site digital simulcast design; two channels are dedicated to Fire and two channels are dedicated to the Sheriff. There are also two additional stand-alone conventional VHF channels, one used for County Schools transportation and one used for Fire paging and alerting. April 28, 2017 Page 2 of 80

3 This radio system was originally installed in 2005, and last upgraded in The County also uses four CENTRACOM Gold Elite consoles located in the ECC. All the existing equipment is approaching end-of-life, and needs to be replaced. The radio system supports approximately 500 users. These users have a mix of Motorola radio portables and mobiles, all of which are either at end-of-life, or will reach end-of-life at the end of None of these units can be used in the proposed system alternatives. Replacement Radio System A replacement radio system should meet the most recent public safety and industry open standard as outlined in the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Project 25 (P25) Phase 2. Dinwiddie County stated that the replacement system shall provide RF coverage countywide for portables used outdoors, and improved in-building coverage in specific buildings (such as government buildings, commercial distribution centers and schools). A P25 Phase 2 system will provide 12 voice paths enabling the system to provide a guaranteed grade of service (GoS) of 1% or less (meaning that no more than 1 in 100 calls experience a system busy). The initial design of a 7-channel 700 MHz trunked simulcast P25 Phase 2 system indicated that eight to nine sites may be needed to provide countywide portable and inbuilding coverage, and this is included in the cost estimates. Each site will have 7-channel trunked channels, one allocated for control, and six channels used for voice (in a Phase 2 system each channel supports two talkpaths). The replacement system improves redundancy within the system (no single point of failure), provides a dedicated microwave transport system to connect all the sites to the dispatch center, and replaces all portables and mobiles. The County has elected to use the new P25 pagers in the new system. This eliminates the need for a VHF system overlay to support existing pagers. The new P25 pagers are multiband and multi-technology, so they can be used in a VHF analog system using the current paging tones, and be used in the new 700 MHz P25 system. FE investigated two alternatives for a replacement radio system. Alternative 1 Implementing a stand-alone 7-channel (12 voice talkpath) 700 MHz simulcast replacement radio system using P25 Phase 2, with sites connected via microwave. This includes all new portables and mobiles, as the existing VHF radios cannot be used at 700/800 MHz. April 28, 2017 Page 3 of 80

4 Alternative 2 Implementing a shared-system based 7-channel (12 voice talkpaths) 700/800 MHz replacement radio system using P25 Phase 2, with site connected via microwave. This includes sharing/joining the existing system operated by Sussex County and Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC). This alternative leverages the existing central control equipment of the Sussex/VDOC system, thus reducing the purchase price. In a shared system, it is usual to have the partner agencies share the cost of ongoing central control equipment maintenance and upgrades. The County would also need to provide the connectivity to the Sussex/VDOC system, and this would be accomplished through additional microwave links to the Sussex system. Estimated costs have been prepared for each of the alternatives. The estimated infrastructure costs are based on non-discounted pricing. Frequently, system vendors provide discounts for system and subscriber purchases of this size and scope. System discounts of 20% to 25% are common (and mirror many state contracts), while system discounts of up to 40% to 45% have also occurred in other procurements. However, it is not possible to forecast the level of discount a vendor will offer at the time of proposal submission. Cost estimates for the replacement radio system: Alternative 1: Stand-alone 700/800 MHz P25 Phase 2 8-site Solution o Infrastructure $7,888,000 o Subscribers: $1,164,000 o Total Alternative 1: $9,052,000 Alternative 2: Shared-system, 700/800 MHz P25 Phase 2 8-site Solution o Infrastructure: $6,857,000 o Subscribers: $1,164,000 o Total Alternative 2: $8,021,000 Next Steps For each of the alternatives noted above, Dinwiddie County must take specific next steps, which include: April 28, 2017 Page 4 of 80

5 Reviewing and discussing the alternatives presented and deciding on a preferred direction (limiting the selection to one alternative, or allowing both a stand-alone system or shared-system to be proposed in response to a County RFP) Opening discussions with Sussex County and Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) on system sharing, and how maintenance and upgrade costs would be shared for shared host-system equipment Discussing and selecting specific fire station alerting (FSA) functions Further refining equipment quantities for development of a request for proposals (RFP) Ongoing discussions with the existing CAD vendor for interfacing to Fire Station Alerting April 28, 2017 Page 5 of 80

6 Table of Contents Executive Summary Introduction Functional Needs Assessment and Alternatives Development System Procurement Support RFP Development Proposal Technical Analysis Contract Negotiation System Implementation Support Project Methodology Project Initiation Meeting Stakeholder Interviews Existing System Site Surveys and Assessment Analysis of Data Gathered Establish Needs and Requirements Radio Systems Evaluation Existing System Interview Results Existing System Site Surveys and Assessment Analysis of Data Gathered and Requirements Development Existing Motorola Radio System Overview ECC Dispatch Logging and Recording System Subscriber Inventories Current Interoperability Fire Paging Fire Station Alerting (FSA) Existing System RF Coverage RF Coverage Prediction Methodology Radio System Characteristics April 28, 2017 Page 6 of 80

7 Site and Equipment Parameters Radio System Functional Requirements and Design Criteria Standards Based System (Project 25) P25 Phase Enhanced Coverage in buildings P25 Summary System Interfaces Replacement System RF Coverage Additional Sites RF Coverage Statistics Frequency Band and Capacity System Equipment Infrastructure Backhaul Network Dispatch Console Subsystem Subscriber Equipment Fire Paging Fire Station Alerting (FSA) Migration Plan Training Warranty Radio System Alternatives Alternative System Description System Physical Infrastructure Alternative Radio System Equipment and Cost Estimates Alternative Cost Assumptions Infrastructure Subscribers April 28, 2017 Page 7 of 80

8 6.1.4 Summary Options Alternative Cost Assumptions Summary Funding Opportunities Vendor Finance Grants Grant Program Fees Traffic Citation Fee Local Funding Next Steps Appendix A - Coverage Prediction Parameters Appendix B - Critical Buildings (RF Coverage) Appendix C - Federal Financial Assistance Programs The remainder of this page intentionally left blank April 28, 2017 Page 8 of 80

9 1. Introduction The County engaged Federal Engineering, Inc. (FE) to provide consulting services for the upgrade or replacement of Public Safety Radio Communications Systems including Fire Station Alerting (FSA) and paging. The County plan consists of multiple phases identified in Figure 1, with only the first phase Needs Assessment and Recommendations currently contracted. Needs Assesment and Recommendations System Procurement Support RFP Development Proposal Technical Analysis Contract Negotiation System Implementation Figure 1 Project Phases 1.1 Functional Needs Assessment and Alternatives Development The goal of this phase is to assess the state of the radio systems to determine requirements for either upgrading or replacing the system and developing viable radio April 28, 2017 Page 9 of 80

10 system replacement alternatives. This Report fulfills the tasks and deliverable for this phase. FE will provide consulting services for subsequent phases, including supporting RFP development, procurement support, and technical support for system implementation following Dinwiddie issuance of a contract and purchase order. 1.2 System Procurement Support FE will support the County during each system procurement, providing expert technical advice during the entire solicitation process. This will include attendance at any pre-bid conferences, responding to vendor technical questions during the procurement time, and preparation of technical addenda as needed RFP Development FE will develop technical and functional specifications for the radio system (including paging and fire station alerting), for system procurement in accordance with the selected procurement schedule. The specifications will describe the functional and performance requirements of the radio system infrastructure in sufficient detail for vendors to submit viable proposals with quantifiable performance metrics for future acceptance testing. These technical specifications can then be integrated with County terms and conditions and any other required procurement sections to complete the RFP. FE will coordinate with the County purchasing department to develop a final procurement package that represents all applicable terms and conditions Proposal Technical Analysis FE will review functional and technical compliance of the vendor s proposals with the requirements issued by the County. FE will comment regarding the viability of potential procurement strategies and the vendor s ability to implement their proposed system to the County s best advantage Contract Negotiation FE will provide experienced contract negotiations support, based on our considerable experience negotiating public safety radio systems, equipment, and services. FE has assisted our customers in negotiating some very favorable contracts with vendors. This is primarily due to years of experience with this process and the knowledge gained during previous engagements. While price is often the main concern with our customers, April 28, 2017 Page 10 of 80

11 there are many other items of concern often hidden in the language in the contracts offered including payment schedules, limits on services, and warranty terms. We will address each of these items during negotiations. 1.3 System Implementation Support FE will provide implementation oversight and management services in accordance with the Contract. FE and the County s program manager will refine the assigned activities based on the final radio system specifications and approved vendor contract. These activities may include, but are not limited to, the following areas: Detailed System Design and Acceptance Test Plan Reviews Equipment Inspections Migration/Cutover Planning Testing Oversight Services: o Factory Acceptance Testing o Field and Coverage Acceptance Testing o Final System Acceptance Testing April 28, 2017 Page 11 of 80

12 2. Project Methodology 2.1 Project Initiation Meeting FE launched the project by conducting a project initiation meeting, user agency interviews, and site surveys during the week of January 4, 2017, through January 6, The project initiation meetings established a common understanding of the project goals, objectives, and vision between our respective management teams and staffs. FE also established a preliminary project plan and schedule, providing the foundation for the project tasking to be completed. Figure 2 shows the project's tasking. Project Initiation Develop Interview Questionnaires (Radio) Conduct Stakeholder Interviews (Radio) Existing System Site Surveys and Assessment (Dispatch, Radio Sites) Additional Radio Questions and Data Collection Analysis of Collected Data, Develpment of Radio Alternatives Establish Needs and Requirements Develop Report Figure 2 Project Tasking April 28, 2017 Page 12 of 80

13 2.2 Stakeholder Interviews In advance of face-to-face stakeholder interviews, FE provided the County with stakeholder questionnaires for the radio systems to allow the stakeholders to better prepare for the interviews, resulting in more engaging discussion about current and future communication needs. FE conducted multiple stakeholder interviews during the onsite visit. The radio interview sessions included a mix of public safety/public service disciplines to provide an adequate cross section of radio system users from the County agencies. While we did not request formal responses to the Questionnaire, the interviews held included review and discussion of the questionnaire topics in sufficient detail to assess the current system operation and performance, as well as functional requirements for the new/replacement system. Agencies interviewed included: Sheriff s Office County Fire EMS Dinwiddie Schools Richard Bland College 2.3 Existing System Site Surveys and Assessment In conjunction with the project initiation meeting and agency interviews, FE completed site survey assessments of the sites listed in Table 1, gathering technical data on the condition, age, utility, and reliability of the existing public safety radio systems. FE also conducted surveys and inspections of the ECC console positions and equipment rooms. April 28, 2017 Page 13 of 80

14 Table 1 Existing System Sites ASR Owner Height Lat Long Fire Station SBA - Dewitt None Landfill Weakly Rd Analysis of Data Gathered As part of the kickoff meeting, onsite interviews, and site surveys, FE collected data and information on the existing system equipment and performance radio system. We also collected information on current interoperability capabilities with surrounding agencies. Following the project initiation meeting, stakeholder interviews and site surveys, FE analyzed the data gathered and developed system requirements for each of the systems. On January 13, 2017, we submitted the resulting system requirements to Dinwiddie County, from which we arrived at a set of formalized requirements for the radio systems. Section 3, Radio Systems Evaluation of this report contains additional details for the systems evaluated. 2.5 Establish Needs and Requirements Based on onsite interviews and site surveys, FE developed the System Needs and Requirements memo, and reviewed this memo with the County early in the project. This is a critical step in the process, as the definition of needs and requirements forms the foundation for all subsequent tasks. Following County review the System Needs and Requirements memo was updated and shared with the County. April 28, 2017 Page 14 of 80

15 3. Radio Systems Evaluation 3.1 Existing System Interview Results After analyzing the user feedback, it was clear that the identified requirements align with attributes provided by next generation radio systems. The following items are the required features and functions of the new radio system as indicated in the interview sessions and discussed in more detail later in this section: Improved coverage for portable radios both in and out of buildings Reduced noise in voice transmissions, improved voice quality Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) Encryption Increased voice channel efficiency Open, non-proprietary data interface standards Open subscriber and infrastructure selection Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) Competitive procurement and pricing Improved interoperability As we address each of these items, FE provides comparisons with the existing radio system to assist the reader in understanding the enhancements gained through the implementation of a P25 standards-based trunking radio system that provides Countywide radio coverage, and additional features (such as encryptions and GPS/location). Improved Coverage The existing 4-site VHF system provides good mobile coverage throughout the County. Users noted that outdoor portable coverage had known areas of poor coverage, such as along the river, near Fire Company 5, and during times of full foliage. All agencies noted that in-building coverage needs to be improved. April 28, 2017 Page 15 of 80

16 Designing the replacement radio system based on functional coverage goals will result in obtaining guaranteed coverage by the vendor in the areas required by the County. Encryption The Sheriff s Office noted that encryption is needed to prevent monitoring of sensitive conversations by non-public safety and others not authorized to monitor the conversations. Fire and EMS did not indicate a need for encryption in the replacement system. Many radio systems had encryption options previously available (including proprietary systems). Currently the public safety industry in line with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) guidelines has standardized P25 encryption to be AES. If AES is offered by a vendor, the vendor may also offer other encryption schemes (but must be able to provide AES if encryption is offered). DHS has offered guidance on this issue in their recent Guidelines for Encryption in Land Mobile Radio Systems 1. Included in this set of specifications is Over the Air Rekeying (OTAR) that facilitates key system/subscriber management without the need to touch each radio physically. The digital encryption standard uses the same Vocoder and modulation as P25 nonencrypted voice; therefore, the use of encryption does not reduce range nor voice clarity. Voice Channel Efficiency P25 Phase 2 trunked systems use a 2-slot Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) channel format. This allows two separate voice conversations to operate on a single radio channel, effectively doubling the voice capacity of the system. This becomes very important on a shared system where more separate user groups need to work within the same number of channels. The capacity of the new County radio system, including the individual capacity of each simulcast cell, will be less than or equal to 1% Grade of Service. This means that less than one percent of all attempted calls (i.e., push-to-talks) will be either queued or blocked. This reflects a public-safety grade of service. 1 %20Land%20Mobile%20Radio%20Systems_Final508c_0_0.pdf April 28, 2017 Page 16 of 80

17 Open Data Interfaces P25 provides an open and standardized data interface at both the network and subscriber levels of the system. This simplifies development of third party data applications and prevents the sunk cost of application development from becoming a barrier to the use of new subscriber products. The applications to which this applies vary widely from simple messaging to location. Over the Air Programming (OTAP) is a function that is not included in the P25 standards, and is provided in a proprietary manner by each vendor. Competitive procurement, open subscriber and infrastructure selection P25 standards have created a marketplace where other infrastructure manufacturers produce systems compatible with subscriber radios from multiple manufacturers. Most major suppliers of radio systems, including the County s current system vendor, supply P25 infrastructure systems or subscriber products. Some vendors supply both infrastructure and subscriber products. In addition, several specialty manufacturers supply standards-based equipment for specialized use such as aircraft, surveillance, data, and receive only applications. The infrastructure products available span the full range, from trunked networks and conventional stations, to transportable systems. This range of suppliers fosters a truly competitive procurement process and therefore makes it easy to acquire comparable pricing sources from the multiple public contracts available. Improved Interoperability The new radio system would provide for improved interoperability, including direct operability with other state, local (County) and other private or public service agencies, and interoperability with federal, tribal and surrounding state agencies that use 700/800 MHz P25. P25 being the predominant U.S. public safety digital radio standard provides exactly this type of interoperability, provided users operate within the same spectrum or have multiband radios. Functional interoperability requires planning and coordination. This includes frequency and band planning as well as operational planning such as channel usage, user identification (ID) coordination and even common terminology. An important aspect of P25 is its continued development. The standards are user driven, with user agencies and manufacturers sharing management of the process. With multiple manufacturers driving development, no single manufacturer has exclusive April 28, 2017 Page 17 of 80

18 control of any portion of the standards. This structure drives innovation into the standard and prevents stagnation. Users identified specific interoperability needs, as reflected in Table 2 below. Table 2 Required Interoperability Agency Current Radio System Type Is the Agency Planning an Upgrade? Yes New System Type Sussex County VHF Analog Simulcast 700/800 P25 Phase 2 Chesterfield County 800/VHF Motorola P25 City of Petersburg 800 MHz Yes Prince George UHF Motorola P25 County Amelia County VHF Brunswick County VHF Nottoway County VHF Greensville County VHF Estimated Completion Date for New System July Existing System Site Surveys and Assessment The FE team conducted physical site surveys at four radio sites. FE provides the following assessment, identifying any issues that may affect the modification and/or use of the surveyed sites for the new radio system. The purpose of performing site surveys was to assess whether the existing physical infrastructure can accommodate new radio system equipment, support both the legacy and P25 equipment during implementation, testing and cutover, sustain long-term P25 system operation, and identify any necessary site improvements to the shelter, tower, electrical, backup generator, and/or battery plant. As part of the surveys, FE evaluated overall site conditions, space availability (towers, buildings, and shelters), power sources, and grounding systems. The team also captured inventories on LMR control and RF equipment, dispatch consoles, and backhaul network equipment. It is important to note that the assessment did not include tower structural analysis or tower climbs. The sites visited were a mix of County and other locally owned sites. These site visits enabled us to identify any issues present at those specific sites and to use that April 28, 2017 Page 18 of 80

19 information as representative of all sites in their respective systems. Table 3 provides a list of the sites surveyed, including their system function, equipment housing, and tower structure height. Table 3 Existing System Sites Surveyed ASR Owner Height Lat Long Fire Station SBA - Dewitt None Landfill Weakly Rd Re-use of any of these sites for the new system is feasible; however, there were some issues identified during the site surveys. Some sites have space limitations in the building or shelter, some sites have restricted space on the tower for new cables and antennas, and some sites require upgrades to power and grounding systems. These issues must be addressed prior to the installation of the new equipment. Based on the analysis of data gathered during the physical site surveys, the FE team captured the following requirements for radio system physical infrastructure: Where possible, reuse existing shelter/equipment rooms and power systems (RFP will need to list the sites/rooms available for use). Vendor must upgrade existing site grounding and power systems to meet current industry standards, where existing sites/equipment rooms are used. The existing uninterruptible power supply (UPS) equipment and battery banks have been maintained and upgraded as necessary to keep them in good operating condition. The degree to which existing equipment is reusable cannot be verified until vendor selection and preliminary designs are generated, and a determination can be made as to whether the current UPS devices will meet the requirements of the new radio system. Where and if needed, the vendor must provide new sites, new site towers, shelters, and power equipment (batteries, UPS, and natural gas/propane generators) The selected vendor must ensure that all new site infrastructure designs and installations meet grounding and power systems industry standards. April 28, 2017 Page 19 of 80

20 Existing towers shall have a structural analysis performed in accordance with TIA-222 (latest version) to verify structural integrity with existing and proposed equipment. New towers proposed shall meet TIA-222 (latest version) with the vendor proposed loading, as well as an expansion factor allowing more equipment on the tower in the future (without modifications to the tower). This expansion ability will allow the County to expand the public safety radio system, and possibly include other County initiatives such as broadband. 3.3 Analysis of Data Gathered and Requirements Development FE based criteria for system requirements on improving overall on-street portable coverage in the County as well as in-building portable coverage to selected critical buildings as noted in Appendix B Critical Buildings (RF Coverage), increasing redundancy in the network to improve system availability, increasing the ease of interoperability with surrounding agencies (both P25 and analog conventional agencies), and replacing aging equipment. These system requirements were presented to the County on January 13, 2017, with comments received back from the County on January 20, Based on these requirements, FE prepared two system alternatives for County review and consideration, which we describe in Section 5 Radio System Alternatives, and Section 6 Radio System Equipment and Cost Estimates, of this Report. 3.4 Existing Motorola Radio System Overview The County operates an aging 6-channel Motorola 4-site system, using VHF channels for County Sheriff, Fire, EMS, Schools, and Paging. Four channels operate in a digital simulcast mode for use by Sheriff and Fire. Two additional channels operate in the analog mode for schools and paging. The current Motorola digital and analog infrastructure system used by the County contains equipment that is near or at its end of life, with limited support from the system manufacturer available over the next few years. The limited support could result in impaired radio system services in terms of availability, backup, or alternate means of radio communications. The County understands this risk to mission critical communications and has already started planning system migration or replacement to mitigate the risk of potential unsupported system component failure. Table 4 summarizes the lifecycle status of portions of the current infrastructure. April 28, 2017 Page 20 of 80

21 Table 4 Infrastructure Lifecycle Status Item Motorola Official Retirement Date Parts and Support Availability End Date Quantar Repeaters/Base Stations 12/31/ /31/2020* CENTRACOM TM Gold Elite Series Consoles 12/31/ /31/2018 ASTRO-TAC TM 3000 Comparators 12/31/ /31/2018 *Extended from 12/31/2018 to 12/31/2020, Notice date 3/1/ ECC Dispatch Four CENTRACOM TM radio consoles are installed in the Dispatch Center, with one console per operational position. These consoles control the RF radios, repeaters, and control stations via the Central Electronics Bank (CEB) equipment Logging and Recording System The ECC manages the existing logging and recording system that supports the public safety operations. The current first-generation analog logging and recording system is a Higher Ground system. The system currently records 30-channels, although it is licensed for 40 channels. The logging and recording system was purchased in 2011 from Sound Communications, Inc., a Verint reseller. Sound Communications provides support under an annual maintenance and support agreement. With respect to logging and recording, the vendor indicates the existing Audiolog version indicates the present Dinwiddie logging system is not economically upgradable and will require replacement. A recorder with the appropriate functional requirements will be added to the system price estimates as well need to include the device in the RFP. April 28, 2017 Page 21 of 80

22 3.4.3 Subscriber Inventories Agencies within Dinwiddie County have a variety of VHF portable and mobile equipment. This includes Motorola XTL and XTS radios, as well as Motorola APX radios. FE performed an analysis of existing subscriber inventories on a per-agency basis. No subscribers could be found that will operate on the proposed system (either alternative). While the Motorola XTS and XTL radios could be upgraded to P25 Phase 1 at VHF, the existing radios will not be able to operate on a replacement 700/800 P25 Phase 2 radio system. Therefore, the portables and mobiles will need to be replaced. As an option, the RFP could request that vendors provide trade-in value for all existing equipment that will not be used in the replacement radio system. Table 5 lists the subscriber radio counts by agency. Table 5 Estimated Quantities of Subscribers Agency Pagers Portables Mobiles Sheriff Control Stations Fire/EMS Schools 50 (80 bus, 20 other 4 vehicles) Richard Bland 22 8 TOTALS During the onsite County Fire interviews, FE collected data on accessories such as portable/battery chargers including those mounted on fire apparatus, interfaces to Scott self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), and interfaces to FireCom headsets Current Interoperability Dinwiddie stakeholders described the limitations of their current interoperability. Since Dinwiddie uses a VHF analog system, interoperability with surrounding agencies consists of analog conventional channels, patching, and state-owned mutual aid channel. April 28, 2017 Page 22 of 80

23 The City requires interoperability with County agencies and possibly other surrounding counties including Sussex County, Prince George County, Chesterfield County, Brunswick County, Amelia County, City of Petersburg, and the Capital Region System. During the interview process, the FE team captured the following interoperability requirements that the new radio system must accomplish: The radio system shall provide interoperable communications among all agencies that may play a role in any emergency response within the County The radio system shall provide interoperable communications with mutual aid partners (across county lines), and allow HazMat and water rescue to operate in Dinwiddie and other counties where they operate All County Fire and Police radios shall have 800 MHz ICALL and ITAC channels programmed, as well as the 700 MHz interoperability channels defined by the local Planning Committee The system shall provide interoperable communications with agencies from outside of the County, such as state, local, tribal, and federal public safety entities, per the local Planning Committee guidelines The system shall have talkgroups or channels reserved for tactical and command interoperability among all agencies Fire Paging The ECC uses 2-tone signaling to alert County Fire Department and County Emergency Management personnel. Various manufacturer pagers are used in the system with approximately 200 pagers in service. Fire station alerting and storm siren activation is also carried out using tone signaling. Many of the pagers in the current inventory either have reached or are very close to reaching their end-of-life Fire Station Alerting (FSA) County Fire uses a Fire Rescue Alert Paging (FRAP) system to alert fire stations, provide amplified audio in the station, and turn on lights and horns. The County noted that activation of the FRAP system is a separate step, and would like a one-step process to both page and activate FSA. April 28, 2017 Page 23 of 80

24 County Fire wishes to replace their aging FRAP system with more modern equipment that will support additional features and will fully interface with the County s CAD system, as well as meeting National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) requirements for signaling path supervision, and redundancy Existing System RF Coverage FE predicted RF coverage for the existing VHF system channels, including talk-out (dispatch to radio users), talk-in (radio users to dispatch), and paging (dispatch to pagers). The maps in Figures 3, 4, and 5 in this section illustrate predicted coverage for these three configurations. Figure 3 Existing VHF County Talk-Out RF Coverage April 28, 2017 Page 24 of 80

25 Figure 4 Existing VHF County Talk-In Existing RF Coverage April 28, 2017 Page 25 of 80

26 Figure 5 Existing VHF Pager RF Coverage RF Coverage Prediction Methodology FE uses industry standards and best practices to predict radio coverage as accurately as possible. This includes using all available system data from as-built documentation, system maintenance information, and FCC records as input to a sophisticated computer-modeling tool. Throughout this process, FE uses methods and parameters consistent with TIA TSB FE performed coverage prediction studies for the existing digital system using technical information from the following sources: County supplied information FE obtained a set of existing radio site and technical parameters for baselining the existing digital coverage (See Appendix 2 TIA TSB-88 Wireless Communications Systems - Performance in Noise and Interference-Limited Situations April 28, 2017 Page 26 of 80

27 A for detailed coverage technical parameters). This information contained parameters such as geographic coordinates, structure heights, antenna heights, and elevations. The information was supplied in the form of technical spreadsheets and tower diagrams. Publicly available information For technical information not supplied by the County, FE consulted the FCC s Antenna Structure Registration database (ASR) and the Universal Licensing Service (ULS) database. The FCC maintains a database of all antenna structures that meet a specific height threshold or proximity to airports in the ASR database. In the ULS, the FCC maintains a database of all publicly-licensed transmitters in the country, along with associated technical parameters such as antenna heights and transmit power levels. Where possible, we mined these databases when verifying or making assumptions on the County-supplied information Radio System Characteristics When modeling coverage for the various systems, the following parameters are the same for each system, regardless of the technology, frequency band, or bandwidth: Minimum Delivered Audio Quality (DAQ): DAQ 3.4 o A DAQ level of 3.4 is the minimum recommended audio quality for public safety systems. A DAQ of 3.4 translates to Speech understandable without repetition. Some noise or distortion present. o All coverage shown in the coverage maps represents areas where the prediction studies showed a DAQ of 3.4 or higher to exist. Tile Reliability Margin (measure of confidence in reliability of signals in covered areas): 95% - per recommendations from TSB-88-D for public safety radio systems Propagation Model: International Telecommunications Union Recommendation Model ITU-525 Talk Paths modeled: o Mobile radio Talk-Out (radio site to subscriber unit) o Mobile radio Talk-In (subscriber unit to radio site) April 28, 2017 Page 27 of 80

28 o Portable radio Talk-Out On-Street (radio site to portable subscriber unit worn on the hip) o Portable radio Talk-In On-Street (portable subscriber unit worn in the hip to radio site) o Portable radio Talk-Out In-Building (radio site to portable subscriber unit worn on the hip inside 15 db building) o Portable radio Talk-In In-Building (portable subscriber unit worn on the hip in 15 db building to radio site) RF Coverage area (service area) Dinwiddie County borders Site and Equipment Parameters Appendix A, Coverage Prediction Parameters, provides the detailed technical parameters pertinent to the coverage analysis, including general site information, transmit path information, receive path information, and subscriber unit parameters. April 28, 2017 Page 28 of 80

29 4. Radio System Functional Requirements and Design Criteria Through the data gathering and user needs analysis activities for Phase I of this project, FE evaluated the current capacity, coverage, and functionality of the radio systems. These analyses enabled us to assess network reliability, disaster recovery, redundancy, and backup capabilities for the County as well as gaps between the existing and desired communications environment. 4.1 Standards Based System (Project 25) The Public Safety community, under the auspices of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), developed digital radio system specifications, Project 25 or "P25" Standards, tailored to public safety needs. Their objective was a nationwide standard for digital public safety land-mobile radio maximizing spectrum efficiency, ensuring competition in life cycle procurements, promoting effective and efficient inter- and intra-agency communications, and providing user-friendly equipment and operations. Many agencies participated in this endeavor including the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA), the National Association of State Telecommunications Directors (NASTD), National Communications Systems (NCS), and the Department of Defense (DoD). P25 is a suite of standards defined by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA 102 series) to describe aspects such as radio air interfaces, trunking functionality, network management, and physical interfaces. The P25 trunked system standard defines many open system interfaces to provide direction for multi-vendor operations and flexible system configurations P25 Phase 2 P25 Phase 2 adds two-slot Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) technology using a 6.25 khz equivalent channel (two talkpaths in a 12.5 khz channel) creating an expanded Common Air Interface (CAI). P25 Phase 2 expands and refines the open interfaces between various systems. It employs the enhanced half-rate Advanced Multi-Band Excitation (AMBE) vocoder, which improves voice quality while maintaining backward compatibility with P25 Phase 1. P25 Phase 2 pays significant attention to interoperability with legacy equipment, interfaces between repeaters and other subsystems, roaming capacity, and spectral efficiency/channel re-use. It also provides for compatibility and April 28, 2017 Page 29 of 80

30 interoperability with other P25 systems across system boundaries, regardless of system manufacturer or infrastructure. Deploying a P25 Phase 2 system will effectively double the voice channel count over the existing system operation, allowing for additional system capacity with the same number of base radios at each site. This improves system performance while reducing the capital investment required for increasing system capacity. One item of note, is that a failure of a Phase 2 base station will affect two system talk paths, and this should be taken into consideration in system design. The County currently operates a 6-channel conventional system. Implementing a P25 Phase 2, 7-channel system could potentially increase the number of talk paths from the existing six talkpaths up to Enhanced Coverage in buildings In many cases, the companies operating large warehouses in the County have excellent Wi-Fi coverage within their buildings. Because of the construction of these buildings, the system does not provide adequate coverage in the buildings. The County would like to explore using the Wi-Fi to extend coverage into these buildings. This option is currently available but will require an agreement with the specific building owner and may require an upgrade to a different model portable radio that has this feature P25 Summary Simply put, public safety officials developed P25 to promote a competitive procurement process for obtaining a public safety grade communications system under which all vendors can supply products while facilitating interoperability. Adopting these standards has resulted in vendors retiring proprietary platforms and developing new systems and subscriber equipment compliant with the P25 suite of standards. This competitive landscape resulted in increased functionality and lower system acquisition costs. Additionally, current federal grant opportunities often specify P25 products for communications solutions System Interfaces The following are examples of system interfaces available to P25 systems. April 28, 2017 Page 30 of 80

31 OTAP Over-the-Air Programming The OTAP feature allows authorized personnel to send over-the-air programming information to the subscriber devices. This removes the need for individuals to bring their radios in for making changes to the device. Entire departments can add, or remove talkgroups, channels, or alias/id information over the air. As noted previously, the OTAP feature is not covered by P25 standards, and each vendor has developed proprietary methods to implement this feature. Operational issues may be experienced if multiple vendor s portables and/or mobiles are used in the system and OTAP is operational. Where the system infrastructure and user radio units are the same, no operational issues exist. OTAR Over-the-Air Rekeying Encrypted radios require a key loaded into the radio via a key loader device for deciphering the encrypted audio. The OTAR option allows authorized personnel to change this key over the air. Any subscriber devices not authorized to receive the rekey will not be able to receive traffic. As with the OTAP feature this option removes the need for many subscriber devices to be physically brought in for rekeying. GPS/AVL Interface The radio system will provide for the transmission of GPS data between the subscriber units (portables and mobiles equipped with GPS) and the control equipment. The Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) interface allows dispatchers to view, on a computer display, the location of subscriber devices which have the GPS feature enabled. This feature permits a dispatch operator to see which unit(s) may be in, or near the area where personnel may be needed. An interface between the radio system and the system which will display the location of subscribers will be needed (this could the existing CAD system, or a new mapping display system). This usually requires interfaces at the radio system and the system receiving the GPS information, as well as additional software in the CAD system, or unique software in a separate mapping solution. How the GPS and resulting location data will be used will also impact radio system design. If location data needs to be refreshed rapidly for the entire fleet, this may require additional channels in the radio system, to not impact voice GoS. If location data only April 28, 2017 Page 31 of 80

32 needs to be collected/displayed upon receipt of unit ID or emergency alarm activation, additional radio channels may not be needed. Further review by the County will be needed to define the specific uses for GPS/location data, and how often the location data needs to be collected. Management A Network Management System (NMS) manages the P25 system, and will be the County s access to the radio system s health and control. The NMS requires at least one Network Management Terminal (NMT) for network management. NMTs can be installed anywhere network connectivity back to the P25 Control Site is available. Through these management terminals system managers can manage the system s components and user devices. Typically, system management activities include monitoring the system health and making changes to alias information associated with the individual user radios on the system. ISSI Inter RF SubSystem Interface The ISSI option makes it possible to the interconnect with other P25 systems. This interconnection permits users to roam between the connected systems with certain limitations. The ISSI feature requires a dedicated IP connection between systems, as well as ISSI interfaces at each interconnected P25 system. 4.2 Replacement System RF Coverage The public safety industry standard for portable on-street coverage is 95% of the geographical area at 95% reliability, at DAQ of 3.4 (latest version of TSB-88). Through the Needs and Requirements process described previously, the County confirmed that the industry standard was to be followed in system design. To meet the 95% geographical goal, FE found that an 8- or 9-site system may be required. To obtain this coverage, we focused on using existing sites. In any RFP developed for Dinwiddie, the vendor will be responsible for meeting functional requirements and guaranteeing coverage. The vendor designs may result in fewer or more sites than developed by FE. The FE design of 8- to 9-sites will be used a baseline measure of the vendor s system design proposed in response to the RFP. April 28, 2017 Page 32 of 80

33 4.2.1 Additional Sites To obtain the additional coverage that will meet the County s requirements, FE studied additional sites within Dinwiddie County and selected the four commercial sites listed below as the best candidates to provide the enhanced coverage. The County also stated that if it was possible, it prefers to eliminate the continued use of the Dewitt site due to high lease costs. The McKenney Tank, as shown in Table 6, replaces the Dewitt tower site in the replacement system. Table 6 Candidates for Additional Sites ASR Owner Height Lat Long Crown Castle Norfolk Southern Corporation Pinnacle Towers LLC STC Two LLC None McKenney Tank (replace Dewitt) This 8-site design results in greater than 95% coverage for mobiles and portables on-street, and a talk-in limited (talk-in coverage from the radio to the tower is less than talk-out coverage from the tower to the radio) in-building coverage of 73% for the County, inside buildings with an average loss of 15 db or less. This solution adds a radio site at the ECC, and improves in-building coverage in the County. The replacement system RFP will also require vendors to provide specific buildings with radio coverage (independent from the portable on-street coverage requirement). Where schools are listed, the County should also specify if any portions of the schools (such as the Principal s office, SRO s office, cafeteria, and gymnasium require guaranteed coverage, and must be provided coverage). The RFP will also require the vendors to provide talk-out and talk-in coverage maps for mobile, portable on-street, and portable in-building, based on buildings having a maximum of 15 db loss. This will provide Dinwiddie an indication of in-building coverage to residential and light-construction buildings provided by the vendor s proposed design. If commercial carrier sites (or tower company owned sites) are proposed, vendors must obtain letters from the site owners agreeing to site use, and submit such letters as part of the RFP response. Figures 6, 7, 8, and 9 show FE s prediction of coverage the replacement design would provide. April 28, 2017 Page 33 of 80

34 . Figure 6 Replacement P25 Phase 2 system talk-out coverage (8-site) April 28, 2017 Page 34 of 80

35 Figure 7 Replacement P25 Phase 2 system talk-in coverage (8-site) April 28, 2017 Page 35 of 80

36 Figure 8 Replacement P25 Phase 2 system Pager coverage (8-site) The County has elected to use P25 pagers in the replacement system, and Figure 8 above shows the predicted pager coverage. April 28, 2017 Page 36 of 80

37 Figure 9 Replacement VHF Pager coverage (8-site) The County has elected to use P25 pagers in the replacement system, therefore the VHF predicted pager coverage shown in Figure 9 is not applicable to the replacement system. In addition to on the street portable coverage the County also requires in-building coverage to be provided within certain key buildings within the County. The RFP will list these buildings, and vendors providing proposals for the new P25 system shall address these buildings individually and detail how the new system will provide coverage within these critical buildings RF Coverage Statistics Table 7 summarizes the RF coverage percentages obtained from the 8-site 700 MHz P25 Phase 2 system. As Table 7 shows, the system design meets the portable goal of 95% geographical coverage for portables on-street. April 28, 2017 Page 37 of 80

38 Vendors may propose other system designs that meet the radio coverage functional requirement of 95% geographical coverage, at 95% reliability, and DAQ of 3.4. Table 7 Coverage Percentages for an 8 Site 700 MHz P25 System System Name/Tech Existing VHF Voice Existing VHF Paging Potential VHF Paging Potential 700 MHz Paging (P25) Potential 700 MHz P25 Ph2 Voice Number of Sites Geographic Coverage % of Dinwiddie County (minus Fort Pickett) Portable Portable Portable Portable Mobile Mobile Talk-Out Talk-In Talk-Out Talk-In Talk-Out Talk-In (On-Street) (On-Street) (In Bldg.) (In Bldg.) > Frequency Band and Capacity The County operates its existing system in the VHF band but has also been allocated seven 700 MHz channels in the regional plan. Assessing a system s capacity includes determining the system s potential Grade of Service (GoS). GoS is a metric used to determine whether a radio system has sufficient capacity to support a specified or expected amount of traffic. Channel capacity for a trunked radio system can be estimated using mathematical models such as the Erlang- C 3 loading theorem. The Erlang calculation considers parameters such as the number of available talk paths, projected number of calls made, average call durations, the number of active subscriber units, and the assumption that blocked calls are delayed (not lost). 3 Erlang-C is a mathematical calculation used to predict traffic loading on a communications system. Erlang-C uses three inputs to predict traffic loading the number of available channels or talk paths; the number of subscribers; and the average duration of each push-to-talk (PTT) session. Erlang-C also uses the blocked call delayed parameter. April 28, 2017 Page 38 of 80

39 The GoS metric demonstrates, as a percentage, the likelihood that an attempted call may be blocked. A GoS of 2% implies that of all calls attempted, only 2% of those calls attempted would either be blocked, or take longer than the acceptable amount of time for the system to grant a channel. Public safety advisory groups recommend that public safety radio systems have enough capacity to support a 1% GoS or less, meaning that at most only 1% of all calls would be blocked, or exceed acceptable wait times before being granted a channel. Table 5 details the results of FE s Erlang C calculations and corresponding GoS. The results shown in Table 8 represent average, peak, and emergency scenarios, with all scenarios based on the City s currently reported radio inventory of 475 units plus an additional 25% to reflect growth to 594 users: Average, with 25% of radios active on the system Peak, with 50% of radios active Emergency, 75% of all radios are active. In all three traffic scenarios, the GoS is below 1%. Traffic Scenario Table 8 GoS Calculation for a Shared System Assumed Subscribers Amount of Available Talk Paths PTTs per Hour PTT Mean Duration (Seconds) GoS % Average % Peak % Emergency , % This analysis indicates that a Project 25, Phase 2 system using seven channels (one control channel and six voice channels) providing 12 talk paths has sufficient capacity to support the current user base plus growth. It is important to note that a predicted GoS of 0.0% does not imply that there is zero possibility of a user having their call blocked. Any system, regardless of its capacity, can exceed its capacity whenever the number of simultaneous calls equals the number of available talk paths. The Erlang C calculations and resultant GoS percentage simply attempt to predict expected system performance, using a given set of parameters. April 28, 2017 Page 39 of 80

40 4.4 System Equipment Infrastructure As determined through user interviews, the replacement P25 radio system shall be a new 700 MHz P25 Phase 2 radio system, replacing the aging existing VHF system. The P25 Phase 2 system will also allow operation of P25 Phase 1 radio units. The system shall consist of the following: System control equipment, including simulcast control and voting shall be highavailability, provide redundancy, and be installed in geographically diverse locations. No single point of failure shall be allowed, and equipment/system failure modes shall provide for graceful degradation (vendor to provide detailed descriptions of failure modes). The replacement P25 radio system shall support mission critical operations, therefore requiring a high degree of redundancy and survivability. This high degree of redundancy and survivability shall be provided through a network containing a redundant architecture. Key system components, such as system control equipment, audio control devices and networking equipment will be required to have redundant components to a degree that is both logical and cost effective. A single failure of any component shall not disrupt communications of the entire system. All equipment shall be new and unused. Vendors shall select site locations that provide vendor-guaranteed radio coverage. The system shall provide encryption key management and over-the-airrekeying (OTAR) for users that use encryption, either as a requirement or as an option. The system shall provide over-the-air-programming (OTAP) of subscriber units, either as a requirement or as an option (this is based on a turnkey approach with one vendor providing both infrastructure and subscriber radios units). The radio subscriber equipment shall provide GPS data which can be collected by the system and used by a separate mapping solution. The system shall be provisioned with one P25 Inter-RF-SubSystem Interface (ISSI) for connection to adjacent P25 systems, either as a requirement or as an option. April 28, 2017 Page 40 of 80

41 The system shall be provided with a NMS system that monitors all system components, and provides Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, and Security management (FCAPS) functions. NMTs shall be installed in two locations: the ECC; and one other to be determined by Dinwiddie County. The system shall provide for interface gateways to legacy systems that must be retained, and control stations for interoperability. The system shall be provided with microwave backhaul/transport (connecting sites to system control equipment and consoles). Microwave bandwidth provided to support the proposed system shall have a minimum capacity of 150 Mbps. The microwave system will be a protected loop configuration. Microwave system availability shall meet or exceed % (loop systems are required, because this provides failure mode protection in the event of a path failure). Equipment shall meet or exceed guaranteed manufacturer s mean-timebetween-failure (MTBF) values. Where equipment failures occur, the system shall degrade gracefully, and there shall be multiple levels of decreased functionality (based on what equipment fails). System and equipment maintenance shall be provided, with guaranteed response and repair times to ensure the system availability is met. County and vendor will develop service-level-agreements (SLAs) for response and repair times based on failure severity levels. Adequate spare equipment shall be provided by the vendor as part of the system. 4.5 Backhaul Network The new Project 25 radio system will require a backhaul network for transporting network traffic between sites. Typical backhaul networks can utilize either an optical fiber network, microwave network, or a combination of the two. It is expected that the County will implement a microwave backhaul network. The microwave network will be fault tolerant and designed to provide a minimum of % reliability for the loop. This reliability level of % is commonly referred to April 28, 2017 Page 41 of 80

42 as five 9s reliability and indicates that the microwave network will be designed to be available % of the time. This level of microwave network reliability is standard practice in mission critical public safety land mobile radio systems. Further, the system should be configured in a ring topology providing increased reliability. Ring networks provide two paths to each site. Figure 10 depicts a ring topology, or a ring protected microwave system. Figure 10 Ring Protected Loop In Figure 9, the arrows represent connectivity between the sites. All sites are connected in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. Figure 11 shows a failed link between Sites 2 and 3, yet, all sites remain connected and operable through sites 4, 5 and 1. Implementing a ring protected network adds reliability and redundancy to the network. April 28, 2017 Page 42 of 80