Aurora, Naperville emergency radios prove glitchy

Problems with the new radio system used by public safety officials and city employees in Aurora and Naperville seem to be hitting police patrol officers the hardest, authorities say.

But firefighters and public works employees say they're also keeping track of glitches with the system that is supposed to provide enhanced communication capabilities both indoors and outside.

Critics of the new system say they've been losing signals in so-called “dead zones” and experiencing problems with radio volume and clarity.

Officials in both cities admit the digital radio system has been less than perfect, but insist they are confident it will function effectively after the provider makes the necessary tweaks.

“We need a reliable, consistent communication system for the fire department. Nothing else will work,” Naperville's acting Deputy Fire Chief Robert Bush said. “This system will work. It's working now; it will work better.”

Like police officers, Naperville firefighters have lost signals and the ability to communicate in some “dead zones,” Bush said.

While officials are working to eliminate such problems, Bush said the system provides one advantage over previous ones: it alerts users when they enter an area with no signal.

“It tells us now when we lose signal, which is a huge difference. With the old system, unless you keyed up the radio, you did not know you lost communication,” Bush said. “People are definitely more conscious of it now.”

Aurora Assistant Fire Chief Tom Greiner said radio signal issues affect firefighters less often then police officers, because fire crews are not constantly patrolling the streets.

The same is true for Aurora's operations employees, who perform duties such as graffiti removal, street maintenance and water and sewer repairs.

When the two cities switched to the new radio system, called OpenSky, on Dec. 1, Aurora operations employees had problems talking with each other because the old radio system was still operational, city spokesman Dan Ferrelli said. Some employees also needed additional training on the new radios because they were not as familiar with the technology as first responders.

“Things have gotten much better since the initial crossover as far as operations are concerned,” Ferrelli said.

A few individual equipment issues were the biggest problems for Naperville public works employees, operations team supervisor Tim Cardella said.

“I would say it's gone very well for us,” Cardella said. “The functionality of the system has not impeded our ability to communicate when we're doing critical functions like snow removal.”

The two cities contracted with Florida-based Harris Corp. in 2008 for installation of the system. Naperville's contract amounts to about $10 million, while Aurora's totals about $14 million. The two systems are interoperable, which means Aurora's system can function with Naperville's and vice versa.

The OpenSky radio system sold by Harris also has caused difficulties for public safety employees in other municipalities, including Milwaukee.

Local officials charged with implementing the new system, including Naperville telecommunications manager Dan Voiland, said they were aware of its issues elsewhere, but still believed OpenSky was the best option to replace aging radios.

Aurora's Ferrelli agreed.

“We were aware of some of the other municipalities that experienced issues,” Ferrelli said. “We talked with them, they told us some of the issues that they had and what they thought they could have done better in hindsight, and we took their feedback and obviously put it into our plans.”

One problem in Milwaukee related to acquiring sites for the transmitters necessary to provide complete signal coverage, Voiland said. Milwaukee police Chief Edward Flynn said in a memo in July that the department worked to fix the problem by adding new transmitter sites. But Naperville already had access to all the sites it would need, Voiland said, making Milwaukee's problems less of a concern.

“The decision was not made in a vacuum. We had very specific guidelines, our contracts are very clear in terms of coverage, system performance, which Harris has to meet,” Voiland said.

The most significant glitch remaining in Aurora relates to the way handheld radios find a signal, Ferrelli said.

“The biggest problem is locations that have coverage from multiple sites that overlap and the system has problems deciding which site the radio should affiliate with,” Ferrelli said.

Harris employees made progress on a similar problem in Naperville last week by editing the system's software, Voiland said.

“The new, enhanced system is operating as intended, though not without some technical issues that are to be expected with any new system,” Harris Corp. officials said in a statement. “We understand the concerns that have been expressed during this transition to the new system and we will continue to work with Naperville and Aurora first responders to provide a world-class communication system.”

Making sure the system works perfectly is the highest priority for Bush of the Naperville Fire Department.

“I sit in an office; it works for me every time,” Bush said. “I need it to work for the boots on the ground.”