A new mobile radio system purchased collectively by Baltimore region governments will be on hand to assist communications during President-elect Barack Obama’s appearance Saturday in Baltimore, officials said.
Officials, including Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and Annapolis Mayor Mary Ellen Moyer, unveiled the system Monday and exchanged codes that will connect central Maryland jurisdictions’ radio frequencies.
Ulman said the $600,000 system — which has a 50-foot, retractable, weather-resistant tower — will help emergency workers avoid “can you hear me now” moments on cell phones in dead zones.
“If my cell phone doesn’t work, that’s an annoyance,” Ulman said. “But if our emergency responders can’t hear one another, then we’ve got a real problem.”
The system, purchased through a federal homeland security grant, also may be used during Obama’s Jan. 20 inauguration in Washington D.C.
Its effectiveness was tested when the Baltimore and Baltimore County tactical teams communicated during a hostage situation in August, Smith said, and can be useful in any situation in which normal networks are down.
“The message with all of this is redundancy,” said Mark Hubbard, director of Baltimore County’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
“If something happens to plan A, what’s plan B?”
