Emergency Radio System Upgrade

Roanoke County’s 800MHZ Emergency Radio System is a regional system supporting 2,500 radios and is housed in the County’s new 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 current emergency radio system is analog-based and more than 20 years old.  Due to changes in technology, this life-saving equipment will be obsolete and unserviceable in the future, making the move to a digital system imperative.

The move to the digital system will occur in 2009 and will cost approximately $9 million.

The new digital system will provide a stronger, clearer, and more dependable encryption-capable signal.  Users will include all Roanoke County departments, 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.