CASE STUDY/
WESTMINSTER ISSI
Westminster ISSI:
FULFILLING THE PROMISE OF P25 INTEROPERABILITY
Centrally located between Denver and Boulder, Colo., the City of
Westminster is a young, well-educated city with over 33 percent
of its residents holding bachelor’s degrees, and almost 11 percent
holding master’s, professional or doctoral degrees. In addition
to being well educated, Westminster was named—for a record
12th time—as one of the nation’s most digitally savvy cities by the
Center for Digital Government.
Westminster needed a solution that would provide uninterrupted
coverage with acceptable voice quality for the 25-mile trip to the
Adams County Sheriff’s Detention Facility in Brighton, Colo. Analog
solutions offering interoperability were less than ideal because they
were difficult to use and the voice quality was not acceptable. And
network expansion did not offer a better solution because of the
cost to add additional sites to provide the needed coverage.
An example of Westminster’s digital savvy is its use of technology
in public safety. In 2013, Westminster purchased and deployed
a new VESTA™ Radio P25 land mobile radio (LMR) network
from Airbus DS Communications. The new two-site, 10-channel
800MHz network provided improved coverage and enhanced
voice quality for the City’s first responders. But Westminster’s use
of technology in public safety didn’t stop with the deployment of
the new radio network; it had one more need to address.
SOLUTION – INTER-RF SUB-SYSTEM INTERFACE (ISSI)
Westminster needed a solution for interoperable communications
that could connect to neighboring LMR systems and provided
superior voice quality as well as robust features and benefits. To
get the solution it needed, Westminster again turned to Airbus DS
Communications’ VESTA Radio solution.
CHALLENGE – TWO COUNTIES, TWO JAILS, ONE
NETWORK
The city of Westminster is physically located within two counties,
Jefferson County and Adams County, and, as a result, uses
two different jails. Because Westminster straddles two counties,
arrested individuals are taken either to the Jefferson County
or Adams County detention facility, depending on where they
are taken into custody. While radio coverage for the trip to the
Jefferson County jail was provided by Westminster’s new VESTA
Radio network, radio coverage for the trip to the Adams County jail
was lacking.
The open, standards-compliant VESTA Radio solution supports
the Inter-RF Sub-System Interface (ISSI), part of the P25 suite
of standards, which makes it possible for P25 networks from
different manufacturers to be connected together with wide area
networks. The VESTA Radio ISSI Media Gateway (IMG) software
enables dynamic, transparent and fully featured operations (e.g.
Push-to-Talk management) for individual, group and emergency
group calls across network boundaries. The IMG software has
sufficient capacity to support ISSI connectivity with all adjacent
P25 networks in the area.
Westminster reached an agreement with Adams County to
implement an ISSI connection between their two networks, making
CRITICAL MATTERS™
CASE STUDY/ WESTMINSTER ISSI
it possible for first responders from Westminster and Adams
County to communicate using each other’s network when they are
out of coverage of their home network. Instead of settling for a lessthan-ideal analog solution or spending budget dollars for additional
repeater sites, the ISSI connection with Adams County gave
Westminster the coverage it required along with the voice quality
and ease of use its first responders wanted.
Once the ISSI connection was in place, the City established
appropriate protocols to control bandwidth usage and permissions.
Unlike traditional analog solutions, the IP-based infrastructure
allows Westminster to establish seamless communications while
retaining complete control over its network. The City has the
capability to restrict or deny access to partners in the event of
inappropriate or excessive usage, preserving bandwidth for critical
communication. This ensures a reliable network at all times.
FULFILLING THE PROMISE OF ISSI
Through this link, Westminster police are able to communication
through Adams County’s network as if it was their own. This
drastically improves coverage for Westminster at a much lower cost
than the alternative solutions. As a result, the City saved between
two and five million dollars in upfront costs for the additional
repeater sites that were avoided. In turn, Adams County has
access to Westminster’s network, which provides coverage within
the County that it previously could not service.
“First responders aren’t concerned with the network infrastructure
so long as they have a clear, reliable connection at a push of
a button,” said Westminster Public Safety Communications
Administrator Russ Bowers. “VESTA Radio and the ISSI allow
us to seamlessly collaborate and communicate with our
neighbors and partners, fulfilling the promise of P25 and
interoperability.”
Further still, Adams County’s LMR system is not provided by
Airbus DS Communications, making this first ISSI connection in
the state to link systems of differing brands. This groundbreaking
interoperability is more than just a proof of concept, it is used every
day in Westminster.
01-2015
FORGING FORWARD
Driving home the potential for ISSI-enabled systems, Westminster
recently took part in a ground-breaking demonstration of
interoperability by connecting its Airbus DS Communications
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VESTA Radio P25 network to a P25 test system in Montgomery
County, Md. With the two systems separated by 5 states and
1,600 miles, the demonstration showcased how interoperable
communications can now extend across the country using the
ISSI connection. The connection provided clear voice quality
with minimal latency, and Westminster and Montgomery County
confirmed the ability to communicate via group calls and
emergency group calls with radios on both networks.
With ISSI opening the door of interoperability, Westminster will
work with the state of Colorado and larger cities to create a ring
of connections and provide access the state’s regional networks.
Also, Westminster plans to make up to four additional ISSI
connections within the next two years, expanding by leaps and
bounds with coverage extending into Wyoming, Kansas, New
Mexico and Arizona.
“We would have never talked about a network spanning
such a vast geographical area just a couple of years ago,”
added Bowers. “Now, Westminster is positioned to capitalize on the
technology, and we can connect with virtually anyone – once they’re
ready – regardless of distance.”
YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER
Your community trusts you to protect them, and that means more
than just using the right equipment. It means having a trusted
partner in public safety communications. That partner is Airbus DS
Communications, where your CRITICAL MATTERS™.
As the world’s largest and most reliable source for Next Generation
9-1-1, Land Mobile Radio and Emergency Notification, we keep
people connected when it matters most. For over four decades,
Airbus DS Communications has designed solutions with an
open mind, creating smarter ways to keep all our communities
safe. Today we support more than 60% of all U.S. Public Safety
Answering Points, serving over 200 million people, along with
hundreds of private sector businesses in 20+ different industries,
including transportation, utilities and healthcare, and Federal and
DoD operations globally.
To learn more, call 951.719.2100 or visit us online at
www.Airbus-DSComm.com.
CRITICAL MATTERS™