County begins experiments with two-way radio systems to bridge ‘dead zone’ gap
By Tim Kalinowski on January 24, 2018.
tkalinowski@medicinehatnews.com @MHNTimKal Cypress County council unanimously passed a motion permitting county staff to experiment in so-called communications “dead zones” in southeastern Alberta to test new two-way radio systems which can utilize Alberta First Responders Radio Communications System (AFRRCS) frequencies. Many Alberta government agencies, and police forces such as the RCMP, are thinking about standardizing the use of these sophisticated communications systems province-wide, putting county emergency responders at risk of being left out of the communications loop once that changeover is complete. The county has borrowed two AFRRCS-compatible units to try out in the rugged and hilly terrain in the county, which makes communications extremely spotty at times. The intent of AFRCCS trials is to give the county good information on the systems’ usefulness in terms of bridging those communications dead zones, says Cypress County Fire Chief Kelly Meyer, who will be conducting the trials personally along with his deputy chief John McBain. “Right now we currently have two (units) on loan,” explains Meyer. “Myself and my deputy chief will be going around different areas of the county to see what kind of coverage we get. We want to try out this system inside those dead zones and see how far we can communicate within them.” The systems do come with an expensive price tag, estimated at $20,000 for a platform and several thousand for each hand-held unit. The county has budgeted to purchase three platforms for 2018, but it obviously wants to know if the system will actually work in southeastern Alberta’s terrain before making such a substantial investment; thus the need for trials. “We want to try these out and give council some good feedback,” says Meyer. “There are a lot of agencies which are going to the AFRCCS system, and if we don’t have it we are going to lose a lot of communication’s capability. But we just have to make sure how well they meet the county’s needs first.” 8
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