Compatible Radio Systems?

The Hinds County (Miss.) Board of Supervisors is finalizing plans to spend $8.4 million on a new public safety radio system, which would provide interoperability for participating agencies. However, the state is also pursuing its own state-wide radio system, which could be incompatible with the county’s system, depending upon which vendors are selected. In fact, the state selected Motorola, the county now uses Motorola, and the city of Jackson uses M/A-COMM. The state requires local jurisdictions to obtain approval before building their own public safety radio systems, in order to insure some degree of interoperability.