Lexington, Kentucky: Safest City in U.S. Due to P25 Radio Network

Lexington, Kentucky is known as, “The Horse Capital of the World,” a title signified by the sprawling green farmland that greets passengers flying into the Bluegrass Airport. Lexington is also the home of the University of Kentucky, last year’s NCAA tournament champions. CNN Money dubbed Lexington as the third best U.S. city to retire, and statistics indicate that it is among the top 20 safest cities in the U.S. Now it appears that Lexington will become an even safer place to live because of an announcement today that Lexington- Fayette Urban County Government has employed Cassidian Communications to construct a state-of-the-art digital and mobile radio system that will streamline the city’s safety communications.

The complex digital radio system, the P25 Land Mobile Radio LMR, is trunked, which will unify communications while accommodating a large user base. The 800 MHz simulcast CORP25 radio network is said to be interoperable, a feature that was important for the city's decision makers. Safety communication systems were once separated into separate entities, but now the University of Kentucky, the Bluegrass Airport, the Lexington Police Department and the Lexington Fire Department are expected to share the high-tech network in the next year or two. Cassidian Communications’ CORP25, the radio communications network, will span across city limits, providing better coverage than ever before.

Scott Lander of the Bluegrass Airport's safety division disclosed some of the decision process to CNBC, stating, “The CORP25 solution fits the bill perfectly by ensuring the performance and coverage we require, interoperable communications for all of our emergency responders, and a system that can grow and adapt as the industry evolves." Since Cassidian Communications’ P25 solution is not patented nor is it copyright protected, there is an option for the city to adapt cost-effective solutions as they are offered by the evolving market. According to the report, this is the industry's "only true non-proprietary P25 solution." Also, the CORP25 is structured to adapt to future technologies, so the possibility for a seamless migration remains open in the future. These two facets of Lexington Fayette Urban County Government’s contract with Cassidian Communications, will assist in keeping the network cost effective for some time to come. Not to mention, it leaves the market open for competition and innovation.

It seems that the Canadian-based company, Cassidian Communications is not an unfamiliar name in Lexington’s safety technology. According to the company’s vice president of LMR, Rich Cagle, "Lexington has been utilizing our public safety 9-1-1 call processing and emergency notification solutions for over 10 years.” Since their solutions have proven to work so far, it makes sense that Lexington would expand their services with them. And Cassidain Communications was happy to oblige. According to Cagle, “We are excited to now have our open CORP25 LMR solution selected to round out the public safety communications mix.”