Nebraska - Good Life. Great Opportunity

Public Safety Communications: Statewide Radio System (SRS)

OCIO Home / Public Safety Communications / SRS

 

The Nebraska Statewide Radio System (SRS) modernized state public safety communications to a completely P25 digital system, providing statewide roaming and a multitude of communications resources for first responders and dispatchers. Through 64 towers across Nebraska and double-redundant call processors, the SRS is supporting 40 agencies that rely on the system full time, and more than 97% of counties use the SRS for interoperability with SRS users through Regional Operations Common (ROC) radios located at county dispatch centers.

The SRS is Dispatcher and User-Driven.

It’s the “talk group” resources and communication procedures that create the successful exchange of information between the agencies participating in the SRS. No matter if you are local, state, or federal, the system supports your internal and inter-agency communications on demand. SRS training is provided to your team demonstrating the modern advanced communication tools available and how to use them effectively in your agency.

The SRS is:

  • Statewide and nearly everywhere you go, covering more than 95% of the state and connecting you to other agencies using the system. All it takes is planning your communication resources and compatible equipment to be ready to talk nearly anywhere, any time.
  • Superior to previous communications in its digital voice quality and wide-area roaming features. The SRS supports multiple conversations and provides status indicators to inform users when they have system access and if there is a brief wait time. These features take basic training and practice to get the most out of the SRS capabilities.
  • Open to any public safety, public power, emergency management agency or healthcare group to participate! Through state, local and federal partnerships, the SRS is widely used and still growing across the state. See the SRS Users List.
  • Reliable and more robust than previous systems, the SRS has very low outage stats and few busies. Trunking technology makes the SRS operate efficiently by assigning talk resources upon request.

Benefits to the User:

  • Improved Reliability and Responsiveness: This modern, all-digital P25 system offers superior voice quality and features.  It complies with the Federal Communications Commission’s narrowbanding requirements.  Trunking technology and "talk groups" allow agencies to communicate over large areas of the state and their local area as needed.
  • Less Investment Required—Resulting in Long-Term Savings: Operating separate systems means much higher costs and reduced ability to communicate with other agencies. All SRS participants have access to a digital, trunked statewide radio system. Purchasing and maintaining separate infrastructures is not required and there are different levels of participation offered to fit your agency's needs. System costs are shared by all agencies using the system--resulting in lower costs for everyone.
  • Option to Demo the System Before Deciding to Join: The Public Safety Communications Team will work with your agency and ensure the system fits your needs before deciding to join. Public Safety agencies can contact Dave Collett for more information.
  • Users and Dispatchers Have a Voice in the Operation and Management of the System: Participating agencies are encouraged to attend the Bi-Monthly System User Group (SUG) Meetings and participate in discussions. Policies and procedures are stored on a SharePoint site that users can access in addition to other valuable information and training opportunities.