EF Johnson Technologies, a leading solution provider of mission-critical communications technology for emergency responders, announced the purchase by Delaware County, Pennsylvania, of a $34.1 million KENWOOD Atlas P25 Phase II system including integration with the existing Kairos DMR system. The County's first responders, including police, fire, tactical teams, and emergency service personnel, will utilize the new radio system. This upgrade to Delaware County's aging emergency communications system will be enhanced by multi-protocol integration and includes a shift to 700 MHz operations across the County. When the final build-out is complete in three years, the County will have a 20-site, 9-channel system with coverage at 97% across the County.

EFJohnson CEO Duane Anderson said, "Land Mobile Radio communication has always been a first responder's lifeline. It is never more apparent than when disaster strikes, and response teams depend on reliable voice communication to manage emergency response safely. We are proud to provide a mission-critical communication solution to Delaware County and look forward to our continued partnership." 

The new ATLAS P25 solution will utilize the 700MHz band and integrate the Kairos DMR system into a unified, mission-critical system for the County's schools, public safety, and support agencies. Additionally, several thousand Kenwood Viking radios will be distributed to police and fire personnel within the County as part of the new system. The bulk of these will be the new Viking VP8000 multi-band portable radio with DMR protocol. The VP8000 will allow the County's first responders to communicate on the Kairos subsystem and with mutual aid agencies on different frequency bands – making safe, simple.

The system will provide an immediate improvement in how volunteer firefighters receive notifications.

"The traditional way that we alert them is going away," said Delaware County Emergency Services Director Timothy Boyce. "The majority right now have to rely on a cell phone signal, but with any disaster where we lose cell phone service, we lose contact with our first responders. So, we are replacing that system with a radio-based solution to notify our volunteers of an emergency during a significant event. The system is designed to ensure that we have enough channels available at any peak time."

Once the ATLAS P25 system upgrade is complete, the existing Kenwood NX-5000 radios utilized by the County will be distributed to school safety officers and the schools. At the same time, law enforcement will maintain the ability to communicate with the NX-5000 radios on the new ATLAS P25 system by virtue of its multi-protocol integration.   County Councilwoman Christine Reuther said in approving the purchase, "Everybody's going to start with radios that work on this system. I hope that the residents of the County will be well-served by this investment. It's not just spending money. It's investing in the quality of the services our residents receive (and) in the lives of the people serving them."