Exalt Communications announced that Will County 911 in Illinois has deployed the company’s microwave backhaul systems to connect its new dispatch center, also known as public safety answering point (PSAP), in Bolingbrook, Ill. with a regional switching center approximately 13 miles away. Bolingbrook PSAP dispatches emergency police and fire calls supporting the community’s 73,000 residents. The microwave backhaul system will transport 911 voice and data traffic.
The public safety agency uses the systems to connect its dispatch center with a remote switching center in Laraway, Ill. through four microwave links located on water towers and traditional communications towers. The links must withstand temperature extremes from below freezing to increases as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
“With 911 voice and data traffic that can involve life-and-death situations, we need a communications system that we can rely on no matter what,” said Tom Ross, deputy chief at Bolingbrook Police Department.
Exalt partner Digital Sky of Homer Glen, Ill. deployed the links for Bolingbrook PSAP. As configured for Bolingbrook PSAP, the Exalt 4.9 GHz and 6 GHz microwave backhaul systems carry two T1 lines that transport mission critical two-way radio traffic for first responders. The systems use the 4.9 GHz public safety frequency band for interference protection and reliability and the 6 GHz frequency band for higher capacity to support additional simulcast trunking sites for Will County’s 800 MHZ radio system.
