The City of Lake City in Florida commissioned Omnitronics to supply and install a Radio Management Solution to manage radio communications for its Police and Fire departments.

The existing dispatching console was predominately connected by copper wire and was causing reliability issues. The City was looking to modernize its dispatching facilities, reduce costs and increase reliability by utilising its IP infrastructure.

With the City growing rapidly, future expansion and the advent of emerging radio technologies was a major consideration.

The DX-Altus Digital Radio Management System was a perfect fit for the City’s needs, catering for expansion up to 32 dispatch positions and 56 radio channels, well above its current needs. 13 x IPR110 RoIP Gateways at the remote radio repeater site provided the simple interface between radios and the City’s IP network. IPR110’s also provided a tidy way to channel change remote radios. The installation, centralized at the Police and Fire department, provided intuitive and easy to learn PC based dispatching operations. Paging for fire personnel and integration to CISCO SIP ‘Call Manager’ software, provided connectivity capabilities to people outside the radio network. 3rd party Integration for channel voice recording was also provided.

When required, upgrading to new digital radio technologies and protocols has been catered for with the addition of DRG100 Digital Gateways. The gateway can be loaded with different firmware to cater for different protocols, and from different radio manufacturers, allowing the City greater flexibility in its choice of technology as the needs arises.

The initial driver for change came about from the need to improve reliability of its aging dispatch system that was no longer supported. The resulting outcome saw a new partnership between the City of Lake City and Omnitronics and an understanding of current and future organizational needs.

Having a console solution which is autonomous to manufacturer and digital protocols futureproofed the City against technology developments and radio vendor advancements. In addition, an IP structure which is open to 3rd party integration provides the organization with the ability to choose what equipment works best for them in order to meet their growing demands.

Ultimately, working with Omnitronics has provided the City of Lake City with a long-term technical partner that has the engineering knowledge and experience to assist with helping it to grow for many years to come.