First Response Voice Communications
Voice Interoperability is the ability for public safety officials to share information via voice signals on demand, in real time, when needed, and as authorized.
The need to ensure that our state’s First Responders can communicate with one another when needed is vital in our efforts to keep Kentucky safe. In partnership with the Kentucky State Police and Commonwealth’s Office of Technology, the state is making great strides towards fulfilling this all-important goal.
Update: Every First Responder in Kentucky has the ability to communicate with one another during an incident. Read more to find out how.
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MUTUAL AID |
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The Mutual Aid project provides every First Responder with the ability to communicate during an incident. Mutual Aid Interoperability is the capability for agencies to tune into a dedicated frequency using a standard protocol in order to establish interoperable voice communications with other first responders at the scene of an emergency. The Mutual Aid project includes an enhancement to Kentucky’s existing three frequencies, 150 MHz, 450 MHz, and 800 MHz, to create inter-channel connectivity i.e., the ability to communicate within each of the three frequencies. The project also includes an inter-channel connectivity component that links the three frequencies thus providing full interoperability across the frequency spectrum- all first responders can talk regardless of frequency when tuned to the appropriate mutual aid channel.
Agencies interested in utilizing this FREE service must sign and return the Memorandum of Understanding and return it to the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security.
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SAFECOM |
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SAFECOM is a pilot project provided to Kentucky by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to enhance interoperable communications throughout the Commonwealth. To date, numerous meetings have been held with local first responders to determine their needs in order to construct the interoperability road map for the state. A direct result of these meetings featured legislation passed by the 2006 General Assembly revamping Kentucky’s tax on cell phones. The legislation increased funding to local 9-1-1 centers and created a new grant fund to help centers upgrade their equipment and merge together. Additionally, the General Assembly agreed to pay for all mobile data system maintenance and mandated that locals will not be charged to use the system or for its maintenance. The next steps for interoperability will be to re-energize the Kentucky Wireless Interoperability Executive Committee (KWIEC) which has been tasked to write the blueprint to reach full statewide interoperability.
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Kentucky Emergency Warning System |
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The Kentucky Emergency Warning System (KEWS) is a statewide telecommunications network designed to be shared by a wide range of state agencies. The KEWS utilizes 144 wireless radio tower sites throughout the state with reliable battery and generator backup that provides an “always on” microwave backbone (transport) for state public safety agencies.
Authorized by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1976, service was initiated on the system in 1979. The original system is still being used by the Commonwealth, not only by the agencies for which it was specifically designed – the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security, Kentucky Educational Television, Kentucky State Police, Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement, Kentucky Department for Military Affairs, and the National Weather Service – but also by local agencies such as county sheriffs, fire and 911 dispatch, and emergency medical personnel.
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