The president of X-Ray Business Solutions in Argyle, TX, William B. Travis maintained responsibilities as sheriff in Denton County for three years. During his tenure as sheriff, William B. Travis improved communications in his TX county by deploying a new P25 digital public safety radio system involving the Sheriff’s Office and more than 30 local public safety agencies.
P25, or Project 25, arose from a seminar on advanced technology that took place at the US Department of Commerce in 1989. During this meeting, individuals from all levels of government discussed ways that they could improve communication among public safety entities. They quickly set their sights on digital technology, which was beginning to surpass the capabilities of traditional analog police radio syst ems. In the adoption of digital communications, however, these experts agreed that this technology should meet certain standards going forward.
Among these standards, the seminar participants agreed, were that digital communications must be interoperable, user-friendly, and capable of taking on new users. Experts believed implementation would take up to five years to accomplish. Contrary to initial expectations, this project has gone on for more than 25 years and moved through two phases.
Phase I addressed key forms of communication, such as voice encoder-decoders (vocoders) and Common Air Interface (CAI) technologies. Phase II has focused on narrow-band platforms, providing standards for public safety officials to move to 6.25-kilohertz channels, creating more spectrum space for expansion.
