Panola County, MS, USA

Panola County was facing major interoperability issues. They had a "hodgepodge of radio and radio systems" and needed to be able to communicate effectively with each other.

Daniel Cole, Director of Panola County Emergency Operations and Chairman of the Panola County 911 Board, explained that their old system had limited coverage within a five mile radius. Reliable communications and interoperability was a real concern especially when dangerous situations arose. Mr Cole describes a recent challenge that officers faced during the pursuit of a suspicious driver: "Several agencies were being shot at by the fleeing vehicle. When the driver bailed out, there was a foot pursuit, but nobody could talk to anybody. Everybody was on their own system, and nobody could communicate with each other."

To improve the safety of their people, the county needed reliable, interoperable, open standards-based communications.

The toughness of the equipment the officers and fire personnel were using was also a concern. Mr Cole explains, "In Panola County we're not real gentle with our equipment. We needed some equipment that would be able to take a beating and keep working." Not only did the portables and mobile radios need to be tough, but equipment such as consoles needed to be resilient enough to handle electrical lightning storms that have repeatedly hit the county.

Panola County needed reliable, robust equipment that would also provide seamless interoperability.