Public Safety agencies for 88 cities and the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County currently use a patchwork of 40 aging radio networks. That means they can’t readily talk to each other, creating communications delays that waste time and imperil lives.
LA-RICS’ initiative is to replace this system with a state-of-the-art network solely dedicated to emergency responders.
The Land Mobile Radio (LMR) system creates a unified web of communication, eliminates barriers to multi-jurisdictional responses and allows police, firefighters and paramedics to communicate directly with users outside of their agency. Construction of this network is underway.
Emergency responders also using the same commercial broadband services that millions of us do for our smartphones and mobile devices. That means public safety agencies are competing for space on bandwidths that often slow down and sometimes crash during times of disasters or emergencies.
The Public Safety Broadband Network (PSBN) provides police and firefighters with the capability to send and receive large amounts of data, for instance, allowing an emergency room doctor to view and direct the efforts of firefighters or paramedics—saving time and lives.
This network was completed on October 1, 2015 and is currently in use by various agencies throughout Los Angeles County. It consists of 63 fixed towers and 15 temporary sites that use Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technology. In July 2018 the network was transferred to AT&T for integration into the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband (NPSBN) under FirstNet.
Land Mobile Radio
What is it?
- Digital Trunked Voice Radio Subsystem (DTVRS)
- Analog Conventional Voice Radio Subsystem (ACVRS)
- Los Angeles Regional Tactical Communications Subsystem (LARTCS)
- Narrow Band Mobile Data Network (NMDN)
What will it do
- Provide day-to-day radio communications service for individual public safety agencies
- Enable interoperability among member agencies and mutual aid providers
- Support communication with regional, state, and federal agencies in the event of a natural or man-made disaster
Public Safety Broadband Network
What is it?
- Broadband wireless network using Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technology
- Learn more at www.firstnet.gov
What will it do
- Provide day-to-day radio communications service for individual public safety agencies
- Support 4G data network for secure, high-speed video and data access
- Give emergency responders high-speed access to life saving multimedia information
- Support the National Broadband Initiative
(National Broadband Plan)
Radio Coverage
Member Agencies
LA-RICS is a joint-power authority run by representatives appointed by the following governmental agencies, which are responsible for the safety of 10 million Los Angeles County residents living on more than 4,000 square miles of diverse terrain.
- City of Avalon
- City of Azusa
- City of Bell
- City of Cerritos
- City of Claremont
- City of Compton
- County of Los Angeles
- City of Covina
- City of Glendora
- City of Hawaiian Gardens
- City of Inglewood
- Inglewood Unified SD
- City of Irwindale
- City of La Puente
- City of La Verne
- City of Lynwood
- City of Maywood
- City of Pasadena
- City of Rancho Palos Verdes
- City of San Fernando
- City of Sierra Madre
- City of Signal Hill
- UCLA
- City of West Covina