Sometimes, throwing money at it doesn't help...

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SkipSanders
Posts: 165
Joined: Sun Dec 03, 2006 10:12 pm

Sometimes, throwing money at it doesn't help...

Post by SkipSanders »

Found this over on radioreference forums.

Buy 'em new toys, and they don't even turn them ON!
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FROM WWW.NBC13.COM

Emergency Workers Failed To Use New Radio Network

Monday, Mar 12, 2007 - 02:19 PM

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - In the harrowing minutes after a March 1 tornado struck Enterprise and killed nine people, including eight high school students, emergency workers had trouble talking to one another.

The frustration of police and rescue workers trying to communicate occurred despite an $18 million emergency radio communications upgrade installed in Alabama with Homeland Security funds.

The problem wasn't with the new network, however. Communication was snarled because those responding to the tornado disaster were trying to talk on cell phones or walkie-talkies connected to the cell phone system and it was overloaded.

State Homeland Security Director Jim Walker, in an interview with the Associated Press, said people were frustrated, but all they had to do was turn on their radios.

Rosanna Guadagno, a social psychology professor at the University of Alabama, said the problems in Enterprise show how dependent all parts of society, including police and rescue workers, have become on cell phones.
Brian
Posts: 1454
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 8:54 pm

Post by Brian »

The story is talking about the IDEN system in that state

Southern Company LINC 800 MHz
http://www.radioreference.com/modules.p ... R&sid=1092
http://www.radioreference.com/modules.p ... R&sid=1088


Alabama City Selects SouthernLINC for public safety communications (2/20)
SouthernLINC Wireless, a commercial iDEN service provider, was selected as the official communications partner for the city of Dothan, Ala. Dothan's public-service departments, specifically police, fire and utilities, will use SouthernLINC Wireless services for communications in the Dothan area. "Roughly 95 percent of other municipalities in and around Houston County use SouthernLINC Wireless, so being able to connect with them at the touch of a button makes our jobs easier," said Tim Stewart, information technology manager with the city of Dothan. Police officers are primarily relying on the Motorola i325, while fire safety officials are using the intrinsically safe model i325IS. Personnel from the electric and water utilities are using the i560 handset with integrated assisted GPS (AGPS).

SouthernLINC Adds Weather-Grade Towers ( 1/8 )
SouthernLINC Wireless added more than 20 towers in its service area during the fourth quarter of 2006. The new towers enhance the company's local coverage and improve call performance in portions of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, SouthernLINC said. Specifically, 10 towers were added in Georgia, 10 in Alabama and one in the Florida panhandle. SouthernLINC said the new towers are built to "weather-grade" specifications, making the network reliable even in extreme weather conditions. A network built to withstand severe weather conditions is especially important for police, fire departments, and other first responders, many of which are SouthernLINC customers, the company added.

Courtesy of MissionCritical Magazine http://radioresourcemag.com/



Here is another new story about this
--------------------------------------------------

Reliance on Cells Slowed Tornado Workers
By BOB JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

March 12, 2007, 12:38 PM EDT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- In the chaos after a tornado killed nine people in
Enterprise, emergency workers had trouble talking to one another because
they tried to use their cell phones instead of the state's $18 million
emergency communications upgrade, officials say.

"People were frustrated, but all they had to do was turn on their
radios," state Homeland Security Director Jim Walker told The Associated
Press in a recent interview.

Most police, firefighters and other emergency responders in Coffee
County use Southern LINC Wireless phones and walkie-talkies for
day-to-day communications.

But after the tornado struck on March 1, traffic on that system more
than tripled "instantaneously," said Southern LINC's manager of radio
frequency and construction, Clay Brogdon.

"It overwhelmed our network," Brogdon said.

Like most people, police and other rescue workers have gotten used to
using cell phone technology, said Larry Walker, Coffee County deputy
emergency management director.

"Because of our reliance on it, if it goes down you're in a quandary,"
Larry Walker said.

He said emergency workers eventually switched from cell phones to radios
"and that system worked fine."

The problems in Enterprise show how dependent society has become on cell
phones, said Rosanna Guadagno, a social psychology professor at the
University of Alabama.

"Humans tend to be creatures of habit and our habit these days is the
cell phone. It's disabling when technology we have come to rely on is
not available to us," Guadagno said.

For years, law enforcement agencies in Alabama struggled with different
radio systems that often would not allow officers in one city to talk to
police in the next town or even to their own fire department.

In an effort to fix that problem, the Alabama Department of Homeland
Security used $18 million from a federal grant in 2004 to buy equipment
that would bridge the gaps between various radio systems.

Brogdon said the Southern LINC cell phone tower in the area stayed in
service throughout the emergency and Enterprise never completely lost
service. He said many callers were unable to get through because so many
people were trying to use the system.

From The Associated Press via Newsday
********************************

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, February 23, 2007 5:12 PM
Subject: Re: Dothan (AL) goes iDEN for P/S

According to the Dothan Commission Minutes from December 12 2006, Dothan
has entered into a contract with Motorola for a new P25 System. It
sounds like southernlink was only temporary, as discussed at earlier
Commission Meetings.

"Mayor Thomas introduced Resolution No. 2006-354 (recorded in Ordinance Book No. _______at Page_______), entering into an agreement with Motorola for the lease/purchase of a Project 25 Public Safety Communications System at a cost of $12,790,000.00. Commissioner Lee moved for adoption, motion seconded by Commissioner Rudd. Commissioner Rudd said we are going to get state of the art equipment; something that is dependable and something that the City of Dothan police and fire can rely on as well as other parts of the city that will utilize this system."

Dothan Minutes Dec_12_2006

http://www.dothan.org/depts/cityclerk/C ... inutes.pdf
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