Initial Funding and Project Timeline
Phase 1 included equipment upgrades to the ten tower sites located in the following counties in Southeast Kansas. This phase was operational by July 2006.

Phase 2, Group A included equipment upgrades to the thirteen tower sites located in the following counties of which most encompass the Kansas Turnpike. This portion of the Phase 2 was operational by July 2007.

Phase 2, Group B included equipment upgrades to seven tower sites located in the following counties of which most are in Northeast Kansas. This portion of Phase 2 was operational by July 2008.

Phase 2, Group C included equipment upgrades to seven tower sites located in the following counties in South Central Kansas. This portion of Phase 2 was operational by July 2008.

Phase 3 included equipment upgrades to the seventeen tower sites located in the following counties mostly in North Central and Southwest Kansas.  This phase was operational by September 2010.

Phase 4 includes equipment upgrades to eight tower sites located in the following counties mostly in Northwest and Southwest Kansas.  This phase will be operational by June 2011.

Phase 5 includes equipment upgrades to fourteen tower sites located in the following counties in Northwest and Southwest Kansas.  This phase will be operational by June 2012 and will complete the conversion from the analog system to the P25 digital wide-area trunked system.

Project Description and Benefits
Implementing the Statewide Interoperable Communications System involves switching from a conventional 800 MHz analog radio system to an Astro P25 SmartZone digital trunked system.  One of the benefits of the SmartZone trunked system is wide area coverage.  Radio users no longer have to switch the knob on the radio to go to a different tower location, the radio will automatically switch to whichever tower is emitting the strongest signal.

One of the features of a trunked system is the use of talkgroups.  By using talkgroups, multiple agencies can utilize the system while using less resources than the conventional system.  The repeaters at each site are capable of handling multiple users simultaneously.  Users within an agency have the ability to talk to other agency users from different tower sites across the state because they will be in the same talkgroup.  KDOT communications staff works with the individual agencies to establish their talkgroups and program the radios.

Through the use of event channels and mutual aid channels, radio users from different agencies that do not have established daily communications can now talk to each other.  This enables interoperability.