High-tech radio microwaves to connect law enforcement in Montana

It won’t be long until law enforcement and emergency services will communicate through high-tech radio microwaves across the state.

“By the end of this month, they’re going to be able to stand over in Libby, Montana and in Culbertson, Montana, and talk hand-held to hand-held encrypted,” said Richland County Undersheriff Dennis Palmer.

Just two weeks ago, law enforcement officials in Havre spoke on a two-way radio to officials in Helena.

The Interoperability Montana (IM) Project has been under way for more than three years, funded mostly by the Department of Homeland Security. So far, the project has been billed at about $54 million. Richland County’s estimate is at $13,371,500 for installation and licensing of the repeater frequencies.

“Because it’s homeland security money, one of the demonstrated concept projects was to see if we could do this,” Palmer said,“to see if we can make a radio system work from the eastern border to the western border along the whole Canadian border because that’s the longest unsecured border that any state has in the nation.”

By Louisa Barber
Sidney Herald

Full Story: http://sidneyherald.com/articles/2008/11/19/news/doc4923797542b02192281513.txt