King Lake Communications Tower,
Antenna Maintenance, October 2019
Radio Training Video Production,
Marysville District Office, October 2019
Communication Console Replacements,
Bellevue Communications Center, May 2019
Overview
The Electronic Services Division (ESD) provides public safety grade voice and data transport services and exemplary customer service to the Washington State Patrol and its partner agencies. ESD operates and maintains the agency’s statewide radio, microwave, and wide area voice and data networks. ESD supports over 2500 subscriber radios, 45 communications consoles at eight communications centers, and maintains over 120 communications towers statewide.
Key Measurements and Statistics
Through legislative funding in 2018 and the 2019 – 21 biennium, WSP has implemented upgraded network connections at four of the eight agency communication centers, two of the five crime laboratories, and 25% of the agency’s detachment offices. This has enabled centralization of services in the state’s data centers (Olympia and Quincy, WA); improving service quality to State Patrol troopers and employees, as well as increasing service responsiveness and quality for Washingtonians.
Successes of 2019
Land Mobile Radio (LMR) Upgrade: ESD, in conjunction with the FBI and Motorola project teams, continued the design and implementation of an upgraded LMR system network core. The network core manages all radio call processing for State Patrol and partner agency radio users. Through this project, WSP’s network is brought into the current, supported system version and opens the door for future service and quality improvement opportunities.
Communication Center Console Upgrades: ESD, in conjunction with the Communications and Property Management Divisions, upgraded the communication console furniture in the Bremerton, Bellevue, and Marysville communication centers. This improves employee satisfaction and optimizes communication and workflow in each communications center.
Network Connectivity Upgrades: ESD, in conjunction with the Information Technology Division and WaTech, provisioned upgraded network connections for nearly 50% of the WSP’s district and detachment offices, crime labs, and points of entry (POE)/scale houses. The optimization of services simplifies the agency’s network infrastructure, provides a conduit for integration of new technologies, and provides much needed capabilities to State Patrol employees statewide.
Interoperability Improvements: ESD, in conjunction with partner agencies across the state, emphasized interoperability improvements. Most notably, the Washington State Interoperability Executive Committee ratified the revised Statewide Communications Interoperability Plan (SCIP), with ESD as an active participant in the revisions and updates to this important statewide strategy. Additionally, ESD piloted a Radio over IP (RoIP) gateway to support the Executive Protection Team’s nationwide communications needs.
Revamped radio user training: ESD, in partnership with Government and Media Relations (GMR) and Field Operations Bureau (FOB), developed updated training materials and videos highlighting the new capabilities of the consolidated radio software program. ESD, GMR, and FOB developed training videos that provided an engaging platform to walk through the use and functionality of the radios.