Grant County works to meet FCC mandate

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Saturday, September 6, 2008

Grant County fire departments, EMS units, public works departments, schools and law enforcement were part of an inventory to discover what equipment would be compliant with the 2013 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) narrowband mandate.

The mandate requires all radio communication to go from wide-band to narrow-band communications. Counties, including Grant County, are conducting studies to determine what equipment would need to be upgraded and what the cost would be.

Grant County is part of the Central Minnesota Regional Radio Board which includes 19 counties in the Central Minnesota and the city of St. Cloud. Every county in this committee has either completed or is in the process of doing a radio study.

“As it stands now, we are in the process of finalizing the Grant County Radio study and will bring the study to the board of commissioners for final approval,” said Tina Lindquist, Office of Land Management/Emergency Management, Grant County. “In the meantime, we’re forming a local county user committee to make sure all information is being shared and everyone is informed as much as possible.”

Four options vary in cost.

Option 4, which is called the ARMER System, will meet the 2013 FCC narrowband mandate and also the 2018 FCC mandate. Some of the radios and pagers that are currently used in Grant County will also work with this system.

“It provides improved coverage countywide and improved coverage in building penetration,” Lindquist said. “All grant money can be used to help off-set the cost of this option. In the future, if more grant money becomes available, it may be applied for and used towards this option.”

The cost of Option 4 is $1.73 million.

To further explain the ARMER System, it’s a state built system that is currently used in some counties in central Minnesota. Because it’s a state system, Minnesota is building tower sites needed to meet the 2013 FCC narrowband mandate.

There are two state tower sites covering part of Grant County. One is located by Hoffman and the other near Herman. The state has proposed to build another tower site, at their cost, between Erdahl and Elbow Lake.

“Also benefiting Grant County is a state tower site proposed to be located by Nashua,” Lindquist said. “The only area in Grant County that we may have coverage concern is the north eastern portion of the county.”

A proposed county-owned tower site by Ashby is included in the total cost for Option 4.

However, after more investigating, it appears there may not be a need for the county-owned site near Ashby. Research is being done to see how coverage will be without one. No decision has been made. If a county-owned tower site is found not to be needed, it would reduce the cost of Option 4 by approximately $500,000.

When discussing the options Aug. 27, it was recommended by the fire, EMS, and cities available to choose Option 4, the ARMER System.

“Although expensive now, it will meet both the 2013 and the 2018 narrowband mandates,” Lindquist said, “saving the county from having to spend another large amount of money to upgrade and meet the 2018 mandate at a later date.”

Also important, she said, is that the Regional Fire Act Grant for $464,000 that has been applied for can be used to help off-set the cost of Option 4. Option 4 will also give all agencies in Grant County the most interoperability in a radio system with other local, state, and federal agencies.

“We want the public to know the four options that were presented in the radio study,” Lindquist said, “and that we’re meeting with all agencies and having discussions about which option will most benefit and be cost effective for Grant County.”

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