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The PSERN Project (Project) is leading the emergency radio system development, but when complete, a new nonprofit entity, the PSERN Operator (Operator), will own and operate the system. We are pleased to announce that the PSERN Operator Board of Directors has been formed, with representatives from throughout King County, and they held their first monthly meeting on 3/25. The Board approved several initial formative documents that will guide the actions of the nonprofit entity. Their next mission is to begin the process of hiring a PSERN Operator Executive Director. Operator Board meeting materials and other information can be found on the PSERN Operator section of the website.
The PSERN Project is currently preparing to begin radio coverage testing in April/May that will ensure that the radio end-users (e.g. first responders and other emergency response personnel) will have adequate radio communications on the new system. Click here to view the King County map of where coverage testing will occur, including 39 cities, multiple highways, and unincorporated areas of King County. Coverage testing involves testing staff physically traveling throughout King County, on every accessible roadway and major waterway, to verify the system meets the requirements.
The tests include measuring the channel performance and audio quality across the King County area, within .2 mile squares, referred to as tiles. Testers will cover each tile twice, beginning with the most populated areas. Coverage Testing in the metropolitan area will last approximately 6 months (April – October 2021) and be conducted Monday – Friday, between 6 am – midnight.
The public can expect to see dark blue 7-passenger vans, with yellow strobe lights on the backend and antennas attached to the vehicle roof, driving slowly (e.g. 25 MPH) throughout King County during that period of time. The PSERN Project will notify area E-911 Dispatch Centers and law enforcement, so that they aware of the testing in case they receive inquiries from the community. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact PSERN-INFO@kingcounty.gov.
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The following schedule time frames are subject to change, but are accurate as of 3/25/21:
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Site Construction: April 2016 - September 2021* (building radio towers and infrastructure)
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Programming Templates: October 2019 - November 2021* (developing/programming per radio)
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Radio Frequency Coverage Testing: April 2021 - October 2021* (testing end-user signal quality)
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Radio End-User Pilot Testing: November 2021 - December 2021* (proof of concept end-user testing)
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Radio Deployment & Transition: November 2021 - October 2022 (distribution of agency radios)
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Full System Acceptance: February 2023 (transition operations to PSERN Operator)
*New since last month
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The PSERN Project Radio Deployment is the distribution of the customer agency portable (hand-held) radios and the mobile (vehicle) radio installation. The Deployment will occur in geographic waves beginning in November 2021. The Wave Schedule details, including exact start dates, wave duration, and agency assignments, are still be determined, but will be directly provided to customer agencies soon! The Radio Transition is when the customer agencies begin using the new PSERN channels on their radios and this will occur on the last day of each deployment wave. More information will be shared in the May PSERN Bulletin and be uploaded to the Radio Deployment/Transition section of the PSERN Website. If you have any questions in the meantime, please email PSERN-INFO@kingcounty.gov.
The PSERN Project will be communicating directly with properties in King County that have a public safety Distributed Antenna System (DAS) regarding the DAS transition schedule and requirements. To ensure that stakeholders receive the necessary information, DAS Coordinator, Creighton Watley, has begun outreach to properties requesting that properties confirm and/or update their DAS points of contacts. If you receive an email from Creighton, please respond, so that our records can be updated. If you have any questions, please visit the DAS/In-Building Coverage section of the PSERN website or contact DAS-PSERN@kingcounty.gov.
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