L3Harris inks New York State Thruway Authority contract for P25 upgradeL3Harris inks New York State Thruway Authority contract for P25 upgrade

L3Harris Technologies last week announced that the New York State Thruway Authority has contracted it to upgrade the authority’s critical-communications network to a P25 Phase 2 system during the next several years, according to an L3Harris official.

Ed Muller, L3Harris senior principal account manager for the northeast U.S., said that the New York State Thruway Authority has been a customer of L3Harris—which has had several names—since the 1970s. In the latest deal, L3Harris will upgrade the authority’s existing UHF conventional system to P25 Phase 2 technology, which will triple the capacity of the UHF network.

“It’s about 571 linear miles of coverage,” Muller said during an interview with Urgent Communications. “It is roughly 50 sites—all P25 Phase 2 at 700/800 MHz … It is essentially a statewide system that will be used by New York State Police, too.”

Muller said the P25 deployment is expected to take three years. The first phase of work will involve installing about 1,300 XL-200 mobile radios into authority trucks and other vehicles. These multiband mobile radios will support communications on both the legacy UHF system and the new P25 network, which should ease the technological transition for authority personnel, according to Muller.

“During the transition, we’ll be running both systems in parallel,” he said. “They can utilize that radio on both systems—the existing UHF system and then can switch them over to 700/800 MHz [P25 system].”

L3Harris Public Safety and Professional Communications President Kevin Pietrzak noted the importance of the New York State Thruway Authority upgrading its LMR system.

“There is a significant need for high-speed voice and data communications throughout the Thruway system, particularly during periods of high traffic or adverse weather, and our solutions provide New York with the flexibility to meet its evolving needs over the next 20 years,” Pietrzak said in a prepared statement.

“For three decades, Thruway communications have remained resilient through everything from terrorist attacks to natural disasters, and we look forward to continuing this support.”

At the heart of the L3Harris P25 Phase 2 offering is its flagship Two47 base station, which is a “space saver” when compared to the form factors of some its older technology, Muller said.

“That was key to our design,” Muller said. “[Thruway Authority officials] liked the scalability of the Two47 base station, because there are only a handful of greenfield sites that have to be built out in the system, so we’ll be using existing shelters and structures. Having the ability to use the Two47 base station in the size constraints that we were given [was important] … The Two47 fit perfectly into exactly what they wanted to do.”