Idaho Cooperative Agencies Wireless Interoperable Network (ICAWIN)

News

• June 20 2006

Idaho is in the first stage of implementing their new statewide trunked radio system. The first to come online was Bannock County, located in the southeastern part of the state, and this will be followed by Ada County within the next few months. That said, construction is well underway in Bingham and Bonneville Counties, and they should be the next two areas to come online in the future.

When finished, IIMARS will connect all cities, counties, federal and state agencies together, on one solid, cohesive network that will bring a completely interoperable environment to all public safety first responders for the first time ever, across the Gem State. Currently, many agencies are operating radio systems that are using outdated technology, dating back to the 1960s. In many cases, radio technicians are unable to find replacement parts from the vendors, some of which, have exited the two-way radio manufacturing business long ago, making a major system failure a potential reality for some communities.

The new IIMARS TRS, will bring the entire state into the 21st Century, with highly reliable and fault tolerant technology. This will allow for all agencies to communicate on one platform in the future, which was not possible with the severe limitations of the older technology currently in place. Moreover, this will give the citizens of Idaho peace-of-mind, knowing that their local agencies will have a completely state-of-the-art 9-1-1 radio system, providing mission-critical communications during times of crises.