Franklin Springs City Council Approves New Communication System for Police, Fire Depts

The Franklin Springs City Council has approved a new communications system for the police and fire departments.

At their meeting last Thursday, the Council voted to go with Police Chief Kevin Thompson’s recommendation and contract with Southern Linc.

Chief Thompson said after spending months comparing Southern Linc and Communications International, the system approved by the Franklin County Board of Commissioners for County law enforcement, Southern Linc offered higher quality radios and better service than CI.

Additionally, he said the City would get better overall coverage than what CI could offer.

Thompson added that Southern Linc conducted field tests in the Franklin Springs area and they were able to reach communications systems well outside of the Franklin Springs city limits.

Chief Thompson recommended the City purchase four XL Harris 200p hand-held multi-band radios that have the ability to communicate with other radio systems and radio bands.

He said the new radios are  LTE-capable and can connect across broadband and 700/800 MHz, VHF, and UHF-H bands and come with a 10-hour battery life.

The total cost for the City he said for the four radios is $21,024 with a multi-year warranty and $30 a month per radio for maintenance.

The radios would also be used by the Franklin Springs Fire Department.

After hearing from Chief Thompson the Council voted unanimously to purchase the Southern Linc system.