HomeMy WebLinkAbout04.24.20 Email from Art Robinson - BRICS Radio System - For Information Only
From:Robison, Art
To:Alpert, Bruce;Bennett, Robin;Clerk of the Board;Connelly, Bill;Cook, Holly;Lambert, Steve;Lucero, Debra;
McCracken, Shari;Pickett, Andy;Ring, Brian;Ritter, Tami;Rodas, Amalia;Sweeney, Kathleen;Teeter, Doug
Cc:Kincheloe, Josh;Hannibal, Weedy;Taggart, Kevin
Subject:BRICS Radio System - For Information Only
Date:Friday, April 24, 2020 9:15:52 AM
Attachments:IS.BRICS REPORT.2.memo.docx
Board Members,
I would like to personally reach out and thank this Board for the ongoing support of the Butte
Regional Interoperable Communication System (BRICS) radio system project. I would also like to
recognize Weedy Hannibal for her tremendous contribution to the success of this project.
With the recent launch of the BRICS radio system several weeks ago, it seems reasonable to circle
back on how we got here. It has been the intent of my team and I to present this exciting project to
your Board in a public setting, but the long-running fallout of COVID-19 now makes this impractical.
Therefore, please accept a printed version of the presentation. The report is lengthy. However,
please take the time to read it. Many hurdles have been overcome in order to bring this system to
fruition. A few challenges still remain. The BRICS report chronicles some of these struggles as well
as successes encountered along the way.
The benefit BRICS provides to First Responders and other system users will be appreciated for many
years to come. Each of you, and those of past Board members, should be proud of your contribution
to delivering this important service to the residents of Butte County. Consider your contribution
each time you see a County worker using a radio while providing services to the public.
If you have questions or comments, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Art Robison
Director
Butte County Information Systems
308 Nelson Avenue, Oroville, CA 95965
T:530.552.3200 | F: 530.538.6419
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Department of Information Systems Art Robison, Director
308 Nelson Avenue T: 530.538.7292
buttecounty.net/is
Oroville, California 95965 F: 530.538.6419
INTERDEPARTMENTAL MEMORANDUM
Date: April 28, 2020
TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Weedy Hannibal, Program Manager - Communications
RE: Butte Regional Interoperable Communication System (BRICS)
INTRODUCTION
The Department of Information Systems is pleased to announce the launch of BRICS
Butte Regional Interoperable Communication System. The new Motorola 700 MHz radio
network began Beneficial Use at 5:00am on April 7, 2020. The state-of-the-art BRICS
radio communications system offers County users significant improvements over the
previous legacy radio system. By design, BRICS is a fully redundant radio network, using
only radio sites located within County borders, leverages fault-tolerant microwave
connectivity, boasts greatly improved radio coverage and delivers a stable platform for
future enhancements.
all areas of the county where clear reliable communications are required to promptly
respond to citizens calls for service. In response to the demand from regional partner
agencies for modern reliable communications, we drafted a subscription agreement and
are in talks for partner agencies to join BRICS.
Please accept this informational report spanning multi-years.
BACKGROUND
First Responders depend on radio systems to communicate, both with central dispatch and
between one another. Numerous national emergencies highlighted the vulnerabilities of
communication systems for First Responders. The 1993 World Trade Center garage ramp
bombing, 2001 9/11 Twin Towers and Pentagon terrorist attacks, and 2005 Hurricane Katrina
events served as catalysts for nationwide discussions around solving the communication
issues encountered during these crises. Discussion participants included First Responders
and technologists who were asked to identify operational needs and match technological
solutions to the operational needs. Two major communications obstacles were identified:
There are too many different radio frequency bands utilized, and
There are too many disparate systems deployed.
1
Butte County engaged in this process and actively participated at the local, regional, State
and Federal levels. Participation required County Information Systems - Communications
(IS-Communications) to review capabilities in place and offer solutions to local First
Responders. A radio system assessment became the first priority.
ASSESSMENT
Over the course of the past 20 years, the land mobile radio (LMR) systems used by public
safety have been transitioning away from analog to digital services. To accelerate this
transition, First Responders reserved a wide spectrum of the 700 MHz frequency band for
use across the nation. The extra radio frequency spectrum allowed older systems to remain
operational while new systems were implemented. The intent was to reduce or prevent
service interruptions. With new frequencies available, each state then published 700 MHz
radio plans intended to:
Provide a single platform for all responders,
Assign frequencies to all areas of the state,
Encourage migration, and
Address frequency congestion and disparate system challenges.
IS-Communications engaged the services of a radio consultant to perform needs
assessments, document processes and to provide system options for consideration.
The assessment identified key requirements and challenges:
System Users. Users included the County Sheriff, County Fire, County Emergency
Management, Public Works, District Attorney, Probation, Public Health and general
County government.
Frequencies and Systems. Radio frequencies and systems included 13
Independent radio networks, VHF High Band, VHF Low Band, UHF and 800 MHz
frequencies, 8 microwave systems that supported the radio infrastructure, 13 radio
sites (up from 7 in 2003), all subscriber units, base stations, mobiles and hand held
radios (2,000+)
EOC Activities and Planned Events. Fires, floods, pandemics, and large events
where many congregated.
VHF System Limitations. System limitations included the use of a single transmitter
site and up to eleven repeater sites. The main transmitter site was located in Glenn
County on St John Mountain, 64 air miles from the farthest eastern point in Butte
County. This site had no commercial power and was difficult to access, especially
in the winter.
Geography. Mountainous tree-covered terrain in the County was difficult to
penetrate with radio signal.
Frequency Congestion. Radio traffic congested established frequencies.
Frequencies were shared between dissimilar agencies. There were no available
frequencies for expansion within the VHF band.
System Age. Radios in use were between 5 and 15 years of age. They possessed
no ability to accommodate newer technology.
Radio Coverage. Poor radio coverage due to the distant single transmitter site and
narrow band requirements. Treed topography contributed to limited coverage in the
VHF range. Radio signal only covered about 65 -70% of the County. Often left
users in very dangerous positions with no ability to call for assistance.
FCC Narrowbanding. FCC orders in 2013 mandated the deployment of
from 25 KHz to 12.5 KHz for transmission. A side effect of narrowbanding is
reduced radio coverage.
FCC Ultra Narrowbanding. A potential reinstatement of an FCC order for all VHF
users to reduce bandwidth from 12.5 KHz to 6.25 KHz. This order would force an
analog to digital migration, since it is impractical to meet this requirement with
analog systems. This order has been issued and stayed twice. If demand for more
frequencies continues, the order may be reissued at any time.
Interoperability. Butte County government shared the same geography with five
municipalities and one university. Each had a similar mission and yet all operated
on separate systems.
Site Improvements. Radio sites used for County systems required improvements to
meet the latest R56 standards for electrical grounding, power and electrical service.
County radio sites were acquired over a period 40 years. They were obtained
through agreements, abandonments and purchases, when the previous owners no
longer needed them.
Next Generation. First Responders nationwide are using next generation
technology and applications. The County radio network was not prepared to deploy
new technologies compliant with new operational requirements.
current condition, would not support future needs or technologies. The report provided a
choice of options for consideration. Options ranged from simply updating the VHF system
with a layer of new technology, to complete system replacement. The goals of each option
were to address operational needs and ensure compliance with future FCC requirements
to move from analog to digital technology.
PHYSICAL ASSESSMENT OF RADIO EQUIPMENT
Radio site and equipment assessment was performed. In this review, infrastructure
maintenance, equipment replacement (including one tower replacement and one tower
renovation) would require a substantial investment. The costs to repair and maintain 40-
year-old technology were projected to substantially exceed the cost of a new First
Responder radio system.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL PREPARATION
County IS-Communications, along with County Administration, system end users and the
radio consultant prepared specifications for a new radio system. The resulting design
identified a new 700 MHz P25 Phase II Trunked Simulcast Digital Radio System with
microwave backhaul for data transmission. A Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued with
the specifications for construction of the Butte Regional Interoperable Communications
System (BRICS). The proposed system presented benefits and drawbacks.
Pros:
Utilized available 700 MHz frequency
Improved radio coverage, reliability and safety
Introduced resilience and system redundancy
Removed St. John Mountain radio site from system architecture
Maintained current interoperability capabilities (if multiband subscribers are used)
Simplified user operation through trunked roaming capability
Allowed expansion to regional users in partner agencies such as municipalities and
nearby counties
Decreased frequency congestion through trunking technology and user talk groups
Addressed FCC ultra-narrowband and digital platform requirements
Cons:
Required wireline or microwave connectivity to each site
Required replacement of handheld, mobile and fixed site radio equipment
Required the greatest financial investment
Request for Proposal (RFP) #62-15 posted in March 2015 with responses gathered in May
2015. Three responsible manufacturers responded, EF Johnson, Motorola, and Tait
Communications. All manufacturers made presentations before a panel of system users
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scored by the panel members. Scores were based on presentations and proposed
solutions. The technical proposal for each was graded numerically by the County
consultant using pre-established specifications. The respondent with the highest total
score was Motorola Solutions. It is important to note the winning bid was also the lowest
bidder at $7.2M. The contract was awarded in October 2015.
The County began negotiations with Motorola. The negotiations and subsequent contract
was completed over a period of 14 months and was signed by the Board in December
2016. In negotiations, the County removed some very critical and costly items to stay
within a budget provided by County Administration Office. The negotiations were complex
and resulted in two contracts, the actual build of the system in one contract and on-going
Support in a separate contract. One option of the negotiations was a 10-year lease with
Motorola Solutions. The lease allows the cost of the system to be spread over a 10-year
term. At the conclusion of the lease, the system will be fully owned by Butte County.
IMPLEMENTATION
January 2017 saw the project kick-off and final design phase begin. May 2017 IS-
Communications staff visited the new system at Motorola headquarters in Elgin, IL. In the
5 months since signing the contract, Motorola completed system design and placed
equipment in a warehouse for testing and approval by the County. Testing lasted four full
days, with our team learning how the system operated and its inherent redundancies built
in. At the end of the demonstration, system equipment was secured with a seal, boxed and
shipped to the County. In June 2017 a similar testing of the microwave system was
conducted in Austin TX and equipment shipped to the County.
The system design incorporated a ring network served by two simulcast rings and one
standalone site. The sites in the South simulcast ring are The Oaks, BCSO, and Bloomer;
in the North ring the sites include Chico Sub, Forest Ranch, Platte and Flea Mountain. The
standalone site is located at Sunset Hill. Site improvement projects at 7 of 8 fixed sites
was managed by General Services. The one remaining site to be improved is Flea
Mountain. Flea is currently under improvement by Digital Path, the lessor of the site, for
County installation in late summer 2020.
County managed the public projects at each site, which included repair and maintenance of
the physical facilities, generators, fuel capabilities, heating and air conditioning (HVAC),
electrical service upgrades, and grounding standards to meet R56 requirements.
Additionally there was one tower replacement (Chico Sub Station) and one tower
remediation (Forest Ranch). The only leased sites are Sunset Hill and Flea Mountain.
The County and Motorola worked on many projects simultaneously. The South simulcast
Dispatch for their new radio console equipment. The South simulcast ring and Sunset Hill
have been operational since early 2018, prior to the Camp Fire.
Sheriff staff were using radios that were aged and in need of repair and/or replacement.
Some of the radios were as much as 15 years old. The radio system replacement project
included the purchase of dual band radios very early in the deployment. When the radios
were received, all radios were programmed with the old VHF frequencies and the planned
700 MHz frequencies.
Deputies were trained to use the new radios using their old VHF frequencies. This allowed
users to familiarize themselves with the new radios and become accustomed to their use.
The staff trained and began using the new radios. Initially Sheriff Deputies, District
Attorney Investigators, and Probation staff began use of the radios in late 2017. Mobile
radios were installed in vehicles between 2017 and 2018. These users have been using
the dual band radios on VHF since training.
Work continued on three North simulcast ring sites and completed in early 2020. The
microwave backhaul network was installed at each site when the radio equipment, Land
Mobile Radio (LMR), was installed. We are in agreement with a local partner, Digital Path,
to rent space in their
the end of summer 2020 will allow the County to install BRICS equipment in early fall. The
North ring will function as a fully redundant ring when Flea is completed. In addition, we
anticipate coverage improvement in some far eastern areas of the County when Flea is
complete. In the interim, the seven operable sites will support communications in most
populated locations.
COVERAGE
The completion of the South ring was tested in late 2019. The tests included two vehicles
manned by a driver and tester. The tester was equipped with a computer/program
designed specifically to test radio coverage. The program loaded RFP specifications and a
map of the County divided into a grid work of tiles. RFP specifications required the system
to meet or exceed aggregate radio coverage of 95% of the County. Using the tool allowed
specifications. All areas of the County, including the North, was drive tested to validate the
effectiveness of the South simulcast cell. The North cell was not operational at the time.
The aggregate result met the RFP requirement in all areas, achieving the 95%
specification.
A final system test will be performed after the Flea site is added to the North ring and the
fully redundant radio network is completed.
BENEFICIAL USE
One of the final tasks included alarm installations to alert Radio staff to outages or changes
in the system. In February and March 2020, all system alarms were completed. The
activates the one-year warranty on all infrastructure equipment, except the equipment not
yet installed at Flea Mountain.
th
Tuesday April 7 at 5:00 am, Sheriff Deputies began operation on BRICS. With the turn of
a knob, they went from old VHF technology to new 700MHz technology. The Deputies
must acquaint their ears to digital transmissions, which sound different from analog. The
migration took most of the week as deputies acclimated to the new system at the beginning
of their shifts. Additional work teams and departments will be brought onto the system in
the near future as resources allow.
We recognize most of our local partners remain in VHF for now. In the interest of
Main to the new BRICS 700 system. In addition, we are in discussions with two local
municipalities to join the system and remain open to all other users who have expressed
interest in participating.
RESULTING CAMP FIRE SUPPORT
Camp Fire November 2018 was a terrible event for everyone in Paradise primarily and all
of Butte County in the aftermath. Paradise Police Department had to move their Dispatch
Center when the fire began. All radio systems in Paradise suffered damage to their
equipment and facilities, rendering them unusable in the fire. All commercial
communications networks suffered severe damage in the early hours of the fire.
According to mutual aid plans, State, County and local resources converged to provide
support to our partners in response. In addition, Motorola sent System Technologists
(STs) to assist who live in Butte or surrounding Counties. The Incident Communications
unit activated at Paradise Bowl. As Motorola, County and State STs worked together to
provide radio coverage for the event, one of the Motorola STs suggested turning on
BRICS. He carried a radio with the BRICS system programmed for testing. According to
the system indicators, it was showing coverage of the incident area.
On Day 2, a request for 100 radios was received from Undersheriff Smith. Motorola
delivered 100 radios to the incident within 24 hours. The radios were delivered and
programmed at the incident site. The programming included a complete BCSO list of
frequencies including BRICS working from the South simulcast cell. Prior to the
deployment of the first 100 radios, a request for an additional 100 radios was received.
Again, Motorola shipped within 24 hours. The radios ordered to that point had a dual
purpose. Initially they were used for responding agency personnel and returned at the end
of a shift. However, there was a larger purpose as plans developed for Coroner teams of
4-6 personnel were being coordinated to search each residence in the Fire zone. Keeping
radio traffic secure was of utmost importance. Understanding the sensitive nature of the
task, BRICS, using Motorola encryption, was the only secure way to deliver radio traffic.
Motorola and County agreed to use BRICS on the South cell. Motorola agreed not to
invoke the warranty and allowed use of the 200 radios without charge. The County then
could return the used radios or purchase them at a significant discount to be determined
after the fire.
BRICS blanketed the Ridge with radio coverage. BRICS performed better than advertised
the east side of Paradise within 2-
The ability to use Motorola encryption allowed Coroner teams, with one radio per 4-6 man
team, to conduct their tasks with sensitivity to families awaiting news of their loved ones. If
there was is one thing we could have done differently, we would have asked for more
radios.
The relationship between the County and Motorola teams has now been tested through the
fire. The support we received was second to none.
FUTURE
Much has been accomplished in this system implementation. Yet there are still additional
projects the County should continue to focus on going forward. During the negotiations, IS-
Communications and the Sheriff, as the primary user, removed items from the project to
save costs. Today, in reflection of the Camp Fire and other incidents, some of those cost
saving measures may have more value when seen through the lens of experience.
Radio site in Butte Meadows: The original radio design included a site in the Butte
Meadows area that would provide coverage for the evacuation route, calls from year round
citizens and numerous Search and Rescue calls, in the winter snow and the heat of
summer. The best cost projection available today, depending on site and tower
availability, could be between $2-4M dollars.
The County completed a $21M project to build a two-lane road connecting The Skyway
and Highway 32 in Butte Meadows. The intended use was to provide the Upper Ridge with
an evacuation route in a fire. The Camp Fire was the first true test of its intended use.
During the Camp Fire evacuation, citizens in Magalia and above were directed to take this
route off the Ridge. It was slow going and took some as many as 6-8 hours to make this
journey. The road project proved itself in the number of people that were able to safely
evacuate when Paradise was burning. However, radio and cellular coverage is severely
limited or non-existent along this route.
Project 25 (P25) Encryption for all radios: P25 encryption provides the ability to make radio
traffic secure and private. In negotiations, encryption became a potential cost saving to the
overall project. In discussion with the Sheriff, he asked if his current VHF radios had
encryption. He was advised that it did not, and chose to remove the option.
In the Camp Fire, encryption was deployed in the interest and consideration of families of
Butte County. The encryption deployed was Motorola proprietary encryption that allowed
Coroner teams to work expeditiously and in private.
Another use for encryption is to support specific teams who require privacy in their
missions, SWAT, BINTF (Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force), and the Coroner to
name three.
BRICS is a P25 Standard system. The County chose to follow the P25 Standard to allow
the system to grow as we decide it should, and not be bound by proprietary limitations.
The cost to deploy encryption is a $35,000 one-time equipment investment plus a charge
of $506.40 per radio. Not all radios require encryption and each department will make a
decision dependent on the operational use of each radio.
Consistent software and equipment support as the system matures. The radio system is a
separate computer network that offers our First Responders state of the art digital
communications. While we appreciate the investment the County has made, BRICS is a
system that will mature and require continued support. With continued support, BRICS will
remain a critical resource to the citizens of Butte County.
CONCLUSION
As in all projects, BRICS has been a major investment for the County. IS-Communications
is grateful for the trust placed in us by the County. BRICS will provide the Sheriff and
others a premier communication tool as they serve the citizens day-to-day and in
emergency responses, well into the future.
Respectfully submitted,
Weedy Hannibal
Information Systems
Program Manager - Communications