A
recent article in the Naples (FL) Daily News tells a story that is being
repeated all over the USA. Click here
to view the article. The story is a
nutshell is that the police department has requested funding for new portable
radios for use by police officers. The
city council is responding by considering reducing the number of radios to be
purchased by sharing, rather than assigning radios to each officer.
The
police chief requested a five year budget approval of $240,000, or $48,000 per
year to replace existing police radios.
That works out to $3,200 per radio with an equipment life calculated at
6 years, No mention was made of
maintenance, but presumably, maintenance would be extra. The "benefit" of this new radio
purchase would be one of providing an officer ID to dispatch.....
Several
comments might be appropriate. We offer
a radio with officer ID for under $150!
Presumably, the system used in Collier County Florida by Naples and
other law enforcement agencies is a trunked 800 MHz system using a proprietary
operating system that limits competition.
The
State of Mississippi has a trunked 800 MHz system that covers in the entire
state. The difference between the two systems can by summed up in one word -
encryption, not just any encryption, but a proprietary encryption. Mississippi caught on to this little trick
and removed this "feature" which now allows free and open competition
between multiple manufacturers. The net
result is the cost of a high quality radio was cut IN HALF with no loss in
system performance!
As
far as a six year operating life, and the cost of maintenance, we can show you
how to extend the operating life to ten years, and cut not only equipment cost,
but maintenance cost as well! Want to
know more? Give us a call at
800.489.2611. You'll be glad you did!
