One-way paging system links Richmond personnel

Anxiety continues to run high throughout America as the prospect of another terrorist attack lingers. As a result, most every city and town is concerned with maintaining near continuous communications with key personnel.

This concern was addressed by the city of Richmond nearly nine years ago, however, when it partnered with Aquis Wireless Communications, Inc., of Parsippany, N.J., to design and implement a one-way paging system. This partnership produced a paging network that not only complemented existing radio communications, but also ensured instantaneous messaging between key personnel at all times.

Today, Richmond's one-way paging system consists of approximately 3,000 individuals representing nearly every city agency, including the fire, police, emergency medical, public safety, maintenance, public utilities, school and sheriff departments, as well as elected officials.

"Our paging system has proven an invaluable tool that hasn't failed yet," said Norman Johnson, a systems manager within Richmond's Department of Public Works. "It is easy to use and is extremely reliable for reaching individuals while they are either on or off duty."

A communications expert with nearly 20 years of experience, Johnson has been on the job in Richmond for the past year. In addition to supervising the city's one-way paging network, Johnson is also responsible for the operation and maintenance of Richmond's 800 MHz radio system.

"Like any major city, we have our share of emergencies," Johnson added. "During such times, it is often imperative to have the proper personnel on the scene as quickly as possible. However, these people aren't always reachable by radio or phone. So paging has provided us with a very accurate and cost-effective method for contacting the right personnel at a moment's notice, even if they are not in town when a crisis occurs."

Owned and operated by Aquis and its regional offices in Virginia, Richmond's one-way paging network offers a coverage area that stretches well beyond the city's borders to include neighboring cities such as Virginia Beach, Washington D.C., and Baltimore. This range of coverage is achieved by a series of overlapping transmissions that emanate from a network of transmitters strategically placed on rooftops, mountains, and other key locations.

As for the pagers themselves, their use varies in Richmond depending on department needs. While some individuals only require numeric paging consisting of a phone number, date and time, others require up-to-the-minute technical information in a crisis. For this reason, many police, fire, and emergency personnel carry alphanumeric pagers that provide technical information such as statistics, situational analyses, instructions, and even news and weather updates. Other important benefits include the ability to receive Internet or e-mail messages and simultaneously message small or large groups. Both features have proven particularly valuable for quickly gathering first responders at fire or accident scenes.

"Pagers have become invaluable to our emergency efforts," Johnson said. "They are used by nearly every department in Richmond for organizing activities ranging from roadside clean ups to criminal surveillance. We have certainly become dependent on the technology for saving time and lives."

March 2003 issue of Virginia Town & City