City of Kingston, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

The customer

The City of Kingston prides itself on being one of the oldest cities in Canada. It was newly amalgamated in 1998 and is now comprised ofthe former City of Kingston, former Kingston Township and former Pittsburgh Township.

The challenge

Kingston's Police and Fire Services were faced with the need to update and integrate communications among all public safety departments of the newly formed city, in urban and rural areas. They looked to Time MCI, a Tait solutions provider.

The Police Department's communication systems and networks needed upgrading and customisation to accommodate for the broadened area of service. With their old system, they were using separate radio systems for what were once separate jurisdictions. They looked to find a system that would streamline their operations and provide a high level of encryption.

The Fire Department's communication system was also in need of an update that would enable them to better serve the community.
Inter-connectivity between departments, interoperability with other component providers, and customisation were all desired characteristics of the new communications network, which also needed to fi t within a strict budget.

The solution

The Police Department went to a Tait-only system using the newer APCO P25 digital radios and base stations/repeaters that links the entire 200+ police force together. Encrypted equipment has been put in place for more secure communication. The Fire Department chose an infrastructure comprised mostly of Tait's base stations/repeaters that allowed for interoperability with other components in their system to provide the features they needed.

Tait's products provided improved and clearer coverage that the city needed to better serve the people of Kingston, and the enhanced group communications has allowed for a smoother, more effi cient response. The contract was one of Tait's initial deployments of their proven P25 technology in North America.