Home affairs invests $6M in new radios
Michael De Vente, Motorola Solutions, SVP Government Sales in Latin American and Caribbean Region
(CNS): Motorola has secured a lucrative CI$5.9 million contract to supply the Cayman Islands with a new “P25” radio system, which officials have described as state-of-the-art and “the most advanced and modern radio system” in the region. The investment is designed to improve the quality of communication for fire, police, customs and immigration, as well as medical emergency personnel and other first responders. Speaking at a press conference Thursday, Hazard Management Cayman Islands Director McCleary Frederick said it would replace the “outdated” analog radios with digital units that have GPS, text and encryption services.
Home Affairs Minister Tara Rivers said that Motorola recently secured the contract to supply the new radios, which will be rolled out by September next year. The new system is expected to provide modern safe communication technology for all the emergency services, with around 1,000 radios being handed out to staff in the initial roll-out. The network can also connect to cell phones and Frederick said it will allow local services to take advantage of the advances in technology that they cannot access with the old system, which is proving hard to maintain now.
See the full press conference below on CIGTV.
Category: Government Administration, Politics
Unfortunately, we can all still see that very few of the 407 RCIPS officers are actually deployed in the field at any given time. In 2011 we purchased 11 Chargers, 10 Vitaras and 3 Ford Pickup trucks during a period of deliberate fleet reduction “to save running costs”. That’s a deployable force of 24 vehicles. Unclear how many of those are still roadworthy…we’ve also got 2 or 3 functional ambulances, and a handful of fire trucks. How many P25 radios do we actually need to buy?!? What is the exact figure? Clearly, we don’t need hundreds of these.
These new radios are GPS equipped, which means no more hiding away during the day or night chaps! Your radios’s location will always be known…that’s if your seniors are actually watching where you are!
Someone better tell DoE that hiding in ALT’s, on farms and at home is no longer an option for some.
Does cayman have a attorney general to look into this? I not then whom?
All I hear is Radio Gaga, Radio goo goo, Radio gaga….
P25 came out in 2012 and uses old TDMA technology. Are we buying obsolete phase1 Tech, or the newer phase 2? Why is it being invoiced to the Public at $6mln?!? This smells a lot like the non-functional “state of the art” CCTV that doesn’t seem to work ever…who is on the other side of this transaction?!?
Can Ms Rivers explain why this $6m waste of Taxpayers money didn’t go out for public bids before commitments to Motorola ? I think that all the Cayman Island Taxpayers should hold her accountable . If she can’t and don’t answer to the public then everyone on the Island should PROTEST her next election and not let her back any way near the Government .
I think that Anonymous 5:20pm is on to something when the term is used in saying obsolete phrase 1 technology . I worked with a Company back in 1997 and that technology was what we used for communication .
I will say it again that Ms Rivers should have to answer a lot of questions and be held accountable for $6M contract with Motorola .
Will this include Sister Islands comms? From what I understand, their calls to 911 go to Grand, where they should go to a dispatcher local to the Sister Islands. Very cumbersome, where the dispatcher has no idea of the streets and areas in question.
I pity the negative posters. Try and look at this fantastic develop as something positive. You want the police picking up a phone and dealing for help. Or pressing a button.
Wasn’t money already budgeted for this years ago ? What happened to that?
It must be fun spending other people’s money. If CIG was your own business I bet you could find a communications solution for less than $6k per device. Not to mention the obligatory annual service charges that go with these big contracts.
No not really. 6k per device was 10 years ago.
Another big payday for King larry and his cabal Radios went out with the hoola hoop Cayman why???????? 6 million dollars $6,000,000 wow! fleecing continues now coastguard Debt increasing putting Cayman in ths endless cycle of workpermits to raise revenues when is this shit going to stop Unity Gowerment !
It’s radios and upgrades to towers. If you worked in the business you would know that we run into dead zones all the time. Makes it kind of hard to do your job efficiently..
Throwing away more money, God help us all….
Big mistake again.
The P25 system communication can be blocked by criminals with a 30$ investment in electronics.
The European Tetra system if far superior and is used in 114 countries.
Somebody got fooled again.
Another issue is the operational cost compared to analog systems. The cost to run this P25 system is 7 times higher.
The motorola P25 radio, depending on the model ranges from 2500 to 7000 US. So 6000 per unit ? Somebody got fooled again and YOU are paying for it.
P,S, The communication with the 911 attack was a disaster. Motorola !!!
I really don’t understand why these politicians can’t make better choices. This stuff is on the internet. It takes 3 minutes to figure this out.
It is ironic the government is taking on all these capital expenses whilst other areas of the island are hurting. $90 million per annum for a mental facility, a $300 million Port, millions invested in roads, coast guard, license plates $1 million deal and now radios at $6 million. Residents don’t even have access to SMB and traffic is worst than before yet as a nation, we can afford these projects? SMH.
Got that right the problem is that they spend too much money.
Why so much and why Motorola? Where was the competitive bid?
Motorola is the best. Start there.
If you want to change from that brand then you would have to change out the whole infrastructure on the island to accommodate a new provider. I would say that would cost a hell of a lot more than what is projected. This upgrade should have been done years ago.
We invested millions in a new communication system for Government some years ago and it never worked properly.
Veritas you nailed it . Why did the system have to be replaced ? I wonder if the problems were with the system , or the users of the system. Sometimes you can give some people the best tools in world to do the job with but still can’t do it.
I have to believe that it’s because these Politicians have to spend these big sums of money to make it look like they have done something in their 4 years term and bragging rights.
I read one of the excuses that signals was weak in some places because of the tall buildings . I wonder if antennas for this new system is included in the $6M investment ? The antennas for this kind of system can be very expensive including lease of property where they have to be placed to cover all areas of the Islands .
These modern days, why are radios needed ? when cell phones can do the job
Because cell phones don’t enable instant contact at the press of a single button. Derr!
So….CI$6,000 per radio? Call me crazy but that sounds a little high. Was this a “single source” contract or was there a competitive bid process?
These type of radio systems are not like walkie talkies… They need base station equipment and antennas and other infrastructure. The radios themselves are probably $600-800 each.
Much more than that.
Friend of a friend of a friend
You are missing the entire network build, antennas, 911 equipment and infrastructure. It is not just 1,000 radios
Same negotiators as HSA CarePay cards? F.O.I.