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Public Information Office > Capital Project Updates > Emergency Radio System Upgrade
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Emergency Radio System UpgradeEmergency Communications Radio Tower

New Digital Radio System Went
"Live" on November 4, 2009

Roanoke County’s 800MHZ Emergency Public Safety Radio System is a regional system supporting 2,500 radios and is housed in the County’s Public Safety Center on Cove Road. 
 
The radio system is vital for police and fire and rescue personnel who use the system to communicate with 911 dispatchers and each other when answering critical calls in the field. 
 
The County’s previous emergency radio system was analog-based and more than 20 years old.  Due to changes in technology, this life-saving equipment had become obsolete and unserviceable in the future, making the move to a digital system imperative.

The new digital system went "LIVE" on November 4, 2009.

The new digital system provides a stronger, clearer, and more dependable encryption-capable signal. The first users include all Roanoke County departments and the Western Virginia Regional Jail. In the future, the system will also accommodate the Regional Airport Commission, Salem Emergency Services, the Town of Vinton, local Forestry Service, Hollins University, and Shawsville Volunteer Fire Department. The County’s upgrade will build the infrastructure necessary to eventually move the entire valley’s radio system to a digital standard.
 
Roanoke County’s new system will also allow the County to maintain interoperability with other local agency and locality members of our regional radio system that still operate analog radio systems. The cost of the new system will be approximately $9.2 million.