OPEN SKY
OpenSky is a digital radio system sold by a division of Harris (formerly a division of M/A-COM). It was introduced in 1999 as an expansion of the Monarch wireless voice and data system built for FedEx.

OpenSky uses a four-slot TDMA transmission method (four-level GFSK modulation) in 25 kHz bandwidth channels with an aggregate data rate of 19.2 kbps. The airlink protocols are based on modified CDPD and carry voice using DVSI's AMBE (Advanced MultiBand Excitation) vocoder.

Note that the older ProVoice on EDACS uses GFSK at 9.6 kbps and the IMBE vocoder.

OPEN SKY SYSTEMS
Updates on the following reported OpenSky systems are encouraged.
Please send additions, corrections and updates to Dan.

State Location Contract
Award
Go Live
Date
Status Comments
Arizona Central Arizona Project 2008     Upgrade existing EDACS
7 sites
narrowband (12.5 kHz) channels
1,400 users
California Orange County 1998     Orange County Transit Authority (OCTA)
California Sacramento and Placer Counties December 2005   Not yet accepted; not in service Sacramento Municipal Utility District
900 square mile service area; 550,000 customers
Voice and Data in 900 MHz, two-slot TDMA with 12.5 kHz channels

More than $6 million

Florida Palm Beach County April 2001   Still "under construction" as of June 2008 Municipal Public Safety Communications Consortium (MPSCC)
Phase 1 to use five repeater sites
$18 million
Georgia Jackson       EMC
Georgia Jackson County       Water Authority
Georgia Marietta        
Georgia Newton County 2006 October
2008
Complete $4.5 million
7 repeater sites
575 users (initial)
1,300+ users (expansion)
Illinois Cities of Aurora and Naperville 2008   Build-out Aurora: $15.9 million
Naperville: $10.1 million
Illinois Peoria County December 2007     $11.2 million
Indiana Steuben County May 2007     $5.6 million
Eight channels, six repeater sites, 800 MHz
Michigan Detroit 2002   Apparently operational
(No local reports)
Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT)
Single-site UHF (possibly call sign KZI382) for buses
Michigan Oakland County February 2002   some agencies active on the system $33 million
Connect more than 80 agencies; 6,000 users
Courts and Law Enforcement Management Information System (CLEMIS)

Originally slated for completion in late 2004.
As of August 2008, operating in Troy, Farmington and Clawson.

Final system to use more than 40 frequencies; 35 repeater sites

Nevada Clark County        
Nevada Las Vegas February 2006     $8.9 million
Las Vegas Metro PD
New Jersey statewide     initiative in 2006 New Jersey Transit
New York Statewide 2004   Contract terminated
January 2009
$2 billion
Pennsylvania Allegheny County August 2004      
Pennsylvania Cumberland County August 2000   Operational Poor or no signals in some areas
Pennsylvania Lancaster County December 2000   Contract terminated
March 2008
Originally a $35 million system
Spent $13.8 million
Pennsylvania Statewide 1999   Partial operation
Still not working as planned
$368 million spent as of June 2008
($179 million appropriated by the State in 1996; an additional $189 million appropriation)
Texas Dallas May 2009   Proposed Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART)
3,000 radios
existing DART 800 and 900 MHz frequencies
Texas Houston     Bid  
Washington, D.C. area Washington Gas August 2009   Contract award 20-site, 900 MHz
two-slot TDMA in 12.5 kHz channels

Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia

Wisconsin Ozaukee County     Operational Data-only

Meeting minutes in 2004 indicate the county stayed with EDACS rather than go to OpenSky due to "problems with voice over IP" and "Open Sky is still good for data, but still not up to speed with voice."

Wisconsin Milwaukee 2003   Not yet accepted

Data services working for Police and Fire

Local reports of police cars and officers equipped with OpenSky radios as of Summer 2009

Cost: $15 million

Planned project phases:

  1. Data services
  2. Police
  3. Fire and EMS
  4. Health and Public Works

Missed deadlines:

  • November 2005
  • January 2006
  • June 2006
  • August 2007

Allegations include:

  • Sufficient capacity for the city on the county trunked system
  • Motorola withdrew from the bidding process, claiming it was rigged for M/A-COM
  • The city did not hire an outside radio consultant; the specifications and Request for Proposals came from city committee
Various FedEx       19 regional systems linked together

CORPORATE HISTORY
1936 General Electric Mobile Radio Division formed
August 1950 Microwave Associates, Inc. starts in Boston, Massachusetts
1978 Microwave Associates, Inc. changes name to M/A-COM, Inc.
August 1989 General Electric and Ericsson form Ericsson-GE Mobile Communications, Inc.
May 1998 Ericsson purchases General Electric's remaining 40% interest in Ericsson-GE
June 1995 AMP, Inc. acquires M/A-COM for $277 million
April 1999 Tyco Electronics acquires AMP, Inc.
January 2000 Ericsson sells the Private Radio Systems unit to Com-Net Critical Communications, creating Com-Net Ericsson Critical Radio Systems
May 2001 Tyco International acquires Com-Net Ericsson and merges it into its M/A-COM divison
June 2007 Tyco International splits into three operating companies, one of which is Tyco Electronics Ltd. M/A-COM is part of Tyco Electronics' Wireless Systems Segment.
April 2009 Tyco Electronics announces the sale of the Wireless Systems Segment to Harris for $675 million, who will combine it with Harris RF Communications. The new business unit will be called "Public Safety and Professional Communications."

LINKS
New York State Wireless Network

Pennsylvania Radio Project FAQ
Homepage for Pennsylvania's Public Safety Radio Project


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Last updated August 31, 2009