A safety communications consultant has recommended a $13 million upgrade for Butler County’s 911 radio system.

Mission Critical Partners on Tuesday presented its report on the county’s system to the county communications council and radio advisory board.

Brian Bark, senior vice president of Mission Critical Partners, said the county’s current system, set up in 2004, has reported network failures with its leased lines and lacks flexibility for additional features.

“You’re kind of limited with what you have today,” Bark said.

A 2012 federal law requires the Federal Communications Commission to take away the use of the T-band spectrum radio frequency — which the county uses for its emergency services radios — and auction it off to the private sector.

Additionally, Motorola no longer will support the radio equipment used by the county after 2018.

Nick Falgiatore, a technology specialist with Mission Critical Partners, said a survey of county radio users shows channel congestions, radios nearing the end of their lives, a lack of reliable coverage in the Zelienople area and the northeastern part of the county, and a lack of encryption technology for law enforcement use.

Based on the deficits of the current system, Falgiatore said the requirements of the new system would include 95 percent outdoor and indoor coverage, improved coverage in Zelienople and the northeastern part of the county, technology to support improved capacity, architecture to accommodate growth, encryption capability and redundant components to prevent points of failure.

The survey of the system showed that it would not be feasible to expand it for future use.

“The system today cannot be upgraded to meet these requirements in its present configuration,” Falgiatore said.

The report offered four options for the county. The one it recommended is a 700 MHz system that would cost a little more than $13 million. The other options included a UHF system costing $13.1 million, a VHF system costing $13.6 million and a different 700 MHz system costing $14 million.

Falgiatore said the system costs are all-inclusive — with the bands, channels, radios and other items.

Bark noted that the price could be lower after negotiation. He noted that Armstrong County had a $10.5 million proposal and negotiated it down to $7.7 million; and Lawrence County had a proposal of $8.6 million and negotiated it down to $7.1 million.

“You can see that there is substantial room for negotiation,” Bark said.

With 700 MHz, Falgiatore said plenty of channels are available, and there is plenty of space to expand. He said the band has little interference and allows good in-building penetration.

“It would not be a risk to operate on this band,” Falgiatore said.

One of the options from a draft study presented to the county last year had an $8.5 million option for UHF simulcast. After researching the needs of the county’s system, Falgiatore said this option would not have encryption and would require 10 or more channels to have enough capacity.

He said that there are not enough channels available in both UHF or VHF.

“Not by a long shot,” Falgiatore said.

Additionally, with those bands, the county would have to spend millions of dollars to buy channels. Channel owners may not be willing to sell, and competition for channels can drive the price up.

“There’s a lot of risk,” Falgiatore said.

He said the next step is for the county to pick the option it wants, develop specifications and then put it out for bids. Falgiatore said the goal should be to have a vendor under contract by November. With the average system implementation taking 18 to 24 months, this would make it operational by the end of 2017.

County Commissioner Bill McCarrier, board chairman, asked if having a vendor contracted by November was absolutely critical.

Falgiatore said 18 to 24 months is a pretty standard installation time, and noted the end of support for the radios by Motorola coming in 2018.

McCarrier asked if the county could get past the end of the radios’ support by Motorola.

Falgiatore said it is possible, but said the county would have to rely on third party support. He said the county should have an end-of-life plan in place if this is the case.

“Service isn’t guaranteed,” Falgiatore said.

McCarrier asked about leasing the radios. Steve Haberman, a technology specialist with Mission Critical Partners, said some manufacturers have leasing options.

County Controller Ben Holland asked about the terms of leases.

Falgiatore said that nearly every lease is unique.

“The rates are all over the place,” Falgiatore said.

He said leasing is not a very common practice, and said if the county wants to lease radios, it should have a very specific contract.

County Commissioner Jim Eckstein asked how congested the current system is. Falgiatore said the general feedback from the company’s survey was that it is congested.

Eckstein suggested that the new system would be less crowded because the cost of the system could put volunteer fire companies out of business.

“You’re going to have less people on there because there will be less users,” Eckstein said.

McCarrier said everyone is concerned about cost, saying that the county cannot pay for the system up-front, and neither can volunteer fire companies. He said the county is going to have to figure out how much it should pay for volunteer companies, and if it should help out municipal police departments and paid fire departments.

“These all are decisions we’re going to have to make before we move forward,” McCarrier said.

If the price can be negotiated down to under $10 million, McCarrier said the county could get bank financing to help pay for the project, which he said is less complicated than getting a bond.

Eckstein said that some of the fire companies he talked to complained about the ability for 700 MHz systems to negotiate hilly terrain.

Falgiatore said the level of service provided by the band depends on the location of towers and how many there are. The recommended plan includes additional towers.