Temporary VHF Restoration

Delaware County has acted immediately to identify a temporary means of restoring the VHF radio system following the loss of the Sampson Avenue equipment.

A temporary VHF solution has been identified using another existing tower site. The county is awaiting the necessary equipment before the temporary system can be installed and placed into service.

Once the equipment is received, the county anticipates that the temporary VHF system can be operational within a couple of days.

This temporary solution will provide an important short-term restoration of VHF communications capability while permanent repairs and replacement plans are developed.

However, the temporary solution should not be considered a permanent replacement for the Sampson Avenue facility. The alternate tower does not restore the full functionality, coverage, capacity, redundancy, and resilience of the original facility. Permanent restoration of the Sampson Avenue communications infrastructure remains necessary to return the county's public safety communications network to its intended configuration.

800 MHz Continuity Does Not Eliminate the Need for Restoration

The immediate impact on countywide communications was partially mitigated because Delaware County's 800 MHz radio system is integrated with the State of Indiana's statewide public safety communications infrastructure.

This integration allowed communications to continue through other portions of the interconnected system, preventing a complete countywide failure of 800 MHz communications.

However, this limited continuity should not be interpreted as meaning that the damaged Sampson Avenue facility is unnecessary or that the loss of the site has no operational consequences.

The loss of this facility has:

  • Reduced the capacity, redundancy, and resilience of the 800 MHz communications system.
  • Required the county to pursue a temporary solution to restore VHF communications.
  • Removed critical communications infrastructure that cannot be permanently replaced through reliance on the statewide SAFE-T system alone.
  • Increased the county's vulnerability in the event of another major emergency or communications system failure.