The City of Davis' interest in joining UCD's radio system is motivated to a large extent by the need to replace an aging and obsolete radio system with one that is consistent and compatible with those of other government agencies and municipalities, including Sacramento city and county police and fire agencies, the City of West Sacramento police and fire, and the UC Davis emergency response groups. One immediate benefit of a joint-use arrangement is the enhancement of existing mutual aid agreements, wherein agencies from neighboring municipalities agree to share services, by making it easier for them to communicate with one another.

The discussions are expected to last several months as both parties attempt to identify cost implications, operational and maintenance responsibilities, as well as the comparative advantages and disadvantages that will eventually determine whether or not a shared use agreement is in the best interests of the parties involved.

Trunked 800Mhz radio service permits a large number of users to share a relatively small number of communication paths -- or trunks. Commercial telephone communication is a wireline version of trunking. Designed to serve emergency response agencies (police, fire and rescue) on a priority use basis, the system also serves a host of other non-emergency subscribers such as Facilities Services, Transportation and Parking Services, Unitrans, Yolo Bus, Communications Resources, Inter-Collegiate Athletics, Recreation Hall, Shields Library, and UCDMC. There are currently more than 900 radios in use and this number is expected to grow as more university departments discover the advantages of trunked radio service. Eight of the nine UC campuses are now equipped with an 800 MHz system.

When compared to conventional two-way radio, trunked systems afford a variety of advantages and features, including "Talk Groups" that emulate a separate and dedicated channel. No longer do users have to contend with interruptions or interference from other user groups. Instead of several users competing for a single channel, multiple channels are available. Self-diagnostics, statistical analysis and reporting, and usage measurements make for the "hands off" monitoring and management of the system. Usage can be measured on a per-radio basis, which leads to simplified capacity planning. The system provides the capability to locate and disable lost or stolen radios.

IT-Communications Resources and UCDMC Telecommunications jointly operate, maintain, and recover the costs associated with delivering service to the entire UCD/UCDMC community. Oversight of service delivery is vested in the 800 MHz Trunked Radio Policy Committee, which is charged with resolving such issues as growth, system coverage, compliance with standard radio practices, mutual aid, and enhancements.

Dick Kaye is a systems and technology consultant, manager with IT-Communications Resources.