A recent Police1 VISION webinar paired two communications leaders who have guided their agencies through major radio upgrades: Chief Joe Duvall of the Dallas (Georgia) Police Department and Tom Nolan, Director of Public Safety Communications for Powhatan County 911 Department. The discussion showed how agencies can close coverage gaps, control costs and prepare for the next decade of mobile tech.
| WATCH THE WEBINAR: Future-proofing police connectivity
Legacy coverage gaps drive honest needs assessments
Before choosing equipment, both agencies mapped dead zones and calculated worst-case in-building signal strength. Powhatan found that “50% of the county had zero portable coverage,” Nolan said. His team listed every critical building, set 95% outdoor reliability as a floor and embedded those metrics in a 5,000-spec RFP.
Budget realities shape the technology choice
Powhatan required a countywide P25 trunked network and selected an L3Harris, phased 2-TDMA, 800 MHz, P25 trunked LMR system. Powhatan uses eight tower sites for a 256-square-mile county.
Dallas, a seven-square-mile city, built an LTE-first network around L3Harris XL 200 dual-SIM radios, FirstNet and Verizon Frontline for “less than $700,000 — all paid off in four years with 9-1-1 fees.”
Lesson: Match the solution to terrain, call load and funding capacity. Duvall says the LTE system now delivers “high-90s percent” reliable coverage across Dallas’s seven-square-mile footprint, eliminating the few remaining VHF dead zones.”
Integrating broadband PTT with LMR
L3Harris’ BeOn push-to-talk extends Powhatan’s P25 network to smartphones and Wi-Fi, giving officers encrypted talk-group access and live location mapping. The switchover included a tri-band installation method. Powhatan’s legacy system used VHF, and we transitioned to an 800 MHz system. Deputies and fire dispatchers had the XL200M mobiles installed first, followed by the issuance of XL200P portable radios before switching over to the LMR system. This phased approach supported coverage testing, fleet mapping (channel naming), radio operation training and configuration of available options.
Dallas officers switch seamlessly between LMR talk groups and LTE PTT on the same XL 200 handset.
Both leaders emphasized fleet-mapping discipline and scenario drills, so users know exactly when — and how — to change networks.
Change management and training secure officer buy-in
The XL 200’s traditional form factor eased the psychological leap to broadband. Nolan’s rollout team included frontline officers who helped name talk groups and test encryption, reducing resistance to change. Each agency now runs annual refreshers that force users to practice manual switchover.
Funding options and contract must-haves
Grants, 9-1-1 surcharges and local capital all played roles. Both leaders insist every contract include:
- Coverage guarantees tied to drive and walk tests
- Fixed or CPI-capped maintenance for at least 10 years
- Clear penalties for missed uptime targets
- A cyber incident-response clause
Key takeaways
- Start with a needs assessment: This should include a review of your current system, goals for coverage with the next system and interoperability needs with surrounding public safety agencies, notes Nolan. Determine whether neighboring agencies use VHF, UHF, or 700/800 MHz systems, and whether LTE SIM cards are necessary. The assessment should be grounded in both current needs and future expansion plans, including the number of users and the number of frequencies required to support workload projections from years 2 through 15.
- Coverage testing standards: Ensure both in-building and on-street coverage is tested using industry-standard metrics such as Bit Error Rate (BER), Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), and Delivered Audio Quality (DAQ).
- Maintenance coverage: There should be no consumer price index (CPI) increase for the first 10 years, with a moderate increase applied during the second 10-year term.
- Redundancy: Build redundancy into cores, power and backhaul from day one.
- Pilot programs: Use pilot programs to prove broadband PTT or hybrid LMR-LTE savings.
- Training priorities: Treat training and change management as line items, not afterthoughts.
For agencies ready to future-proof communications, the path is clear: know your gaps, align technology with mission and lock in resilience for the long haul.
Bonus content: Recommended foundation for a robust LMR system
To build a solid foundation for any communication system upgrade or deployment, Nolan recommends including the following:
- Comprehensive needs assessment
- Detailed RFP with technical requirements
- Strong contract negotiations
- Design, development and review (DDR) process
- Rigorous system testing (indoor coverage, BER, RSSI, DAQ)
Behind the scenes: Powhatan County LMR backup capabilities
- Conventional 800 MHz repeater at Mitchell Tower for use during major L3Harris system failures.
- BeOn mobile app operational even during some site outages.
- Mobile radios and console control stations to ensure connectivity in case of core internet failure.
- Three independent paths to our LMR core: direct fiber, fiber to the LMR microwave tower, and microwave dish redundancy.
- Dual A & B CHE cores for 911 call handling equipment (located at both primary and backup centers), each with separate fiber connections.
- Portable radios assigned to each communications officer, enabling communication during a complete power outage at the primary center.
- Laptops with CAD access for remote operations.
| WATCH THE WEBINAR: Future-proofing police connectivity
