All-America City purchases Motorola 800 MHz radio communications system.

OCALA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 11, 1995--The City of Ocala, winner of the National Civic League's 1995 All-America City Award, has selected Motorola to design and install a new 800 MHz radio communications system for the city's public safety and public service departments.

The City Council unanimously approved the contract award.

The city's police and fire departments plus the Ocala Electric Utility will be the first to use the system. It's scheduled to "go live" in December 1995. Plans call for all other city public safety and service departments to join the system shortly afterward.

The new system will provide all departments a wide range of radio capabilities, a welcomed replacement for a 40-year-old radio system that simply could no longer meet growing communications needs, according to city officials.

"The 800 MHz system will give us more consistent radio coverage throughout our 175-mile service area," said Dean Shaw, Ocala Electric Utility director. "We will be able to communicate directly with other city departments if we need their help. This is particularly important in major regional emergencies or natural disasters like Hurricane Andrew that devastated south Florida a few years ago. We were considerably north of the path that hurricane took, but we always must be prepared. This radio system will give us an invaluable tool to coordinate multi-agency emergency response when we need to."

The Motorola SMARTNET(tm) II trunked analog system uses 12 channels with a single repeater site. Plans call for more than 500 Motorola MTS 2000(tm) portable and Spectra(tm) mobile radios eventually to be included in the $2 million system.

"The system provides us significant spectrum relief and tremendous channel efficiency, enabling us to expand our radio capacity and communications capabilities," said Fire Chief William Woods. "We'll have faster system access, individual unit identification when a transmission is made, telephone interconnect and private conversation capabilities, the flexibility to organize radios into talk groups, the technology to disable radios that are lost or stolen, and the ability to retrieve information on system activity. We've never had a radio system with so many positive features."

The system even will give city agencies the future capability to send data for the first time. "All we'll have to do is connect data terminals to our mobile units," said Police Chief Morrey Deen.

The addition of the SMARTNET radio capability is just the latest accomplishment for the community honored as an All-America City by the National Civic League this past June. Theodore Roosevelt founded the National Civic League in 1894.

Only nine other communities received 1995 All-America City honors. Some 145 communities from 39 states actually competed for the recognition. Ocala is the only Florida community to win the award this year.

"We were specifically recognized for initiatives like our Mad Dads anti-drug and crime program, the Project Eagle annual waterway clean-ups, our Discovery Science Center and downtown revitalization efforts," said Dick Lewis, assistant city manager. "Our new 800 MHz system certainly could be added to the list. This is a great communications tool for our community in that we'll be able to coordinate the dispatch and vital work of our public safety and public service departments."

The Motorola system is designed to be easily upgraded to digital technology in the future, and be compliant with the standard for digital radio systems defined by APCO Project 25. The APCO Project 25 standard was created by public safety radio users to insure compatibility among digital equipment manufactured by different vendors, much like standards work in the computer industry. For Ocala, the standard means it could expand its future digital system by purchasing additional equipment from any vendor meeting the standard, and be confident both the new and older radios could communicate with one another.

Public safety and public service agencies across the country are using the standard to specify and buy digital radio systems. The States of Delaware, Florida and Michigan, cities such as Memphis, Tenn., and counties like Sarasota County, Fla., all have purchased Motorola 800 MHz digital systems upgradable to the APCO Project 25 standard.

Five years in development, the APCO Project 25 standard was created through a joint effort of many international communications organizations, governmental agencies and equipment manufacturers. They include the South Daytona, Fla.-based Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO), the National Association of State Telecommunications Directors, United States federal agencies including the Department of Defense, National Communications System and National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and communications experts from a number of countries. APCO is the world's oldest and largest organization of public safety communications professionals. The organization has more than 10,000 members worldwide.

When the Ocala system is upgraded to digital technology, city personnel will be able to communicate with agencies using the State of Florida's Motorola 800 MHz digital radio system through their own portable and mobile radios. -0-

Motorola is one of the world's leading providers of wireless communications, semiconductors, advanced electronic systems and services. Major equipment businesses include two-way radio, cellular telephone, paging and data communications, personal communications, automotive, defense and space electronics and computers. Communications devices, computers and millions of consumer products are powered by Motorola semiconductors. Motorola's 1995 sales were $22.2 billion.

For additional information, call either Ron Levitt, 305/443-3223, or Ms. Pat Schod, 708/576-6612.

CONTACT: Motorola

Pat Schod, 708/576-6612