The Mathews Broadband Advisory Board is working with the county’s emergency services agencies to explore the possibility of expanding broadband in the county in conjunction with the agencies’ efforts to create a regional public safety radio network.
Last month, Sheriff Mark Barrick, Fire Chief Donnie Lewis, and Rescue Squad President Chris Buchanan received approval from the Mathews Board of Supervisors to join with King and Queen County in creating the new network. Barrick told the board the cost would be $1 million, and the board approved the request with instructions to begin searching for funding sources.
The system, as proposed by Harris Public Safety Communications, would be for Mathews to connect to King and Queen with a 5GB microwave backhaul connection, said broadband board consultant Jeff Beekhoo of Broadband Telecom Inc. during the broadband board’s meeting on March 2.
This would require the purchase of equipment at a cost of possibly $400,000. Beekhoo said that he had instead discussed with Harris the possibility of using a Segra fiber connection that runs from the Virginia State Police radio tower in Mathews to an operations center in King and Queen County at considerable cost savings.
Mathews County Emergency Services Coordinator Willie Love and Lewis, who virtually attended the broadband board meeting, expressed approval of the suggestion.
“Our radio system is antiquated, and we have to replace it,” said Lewis. “Fiber is the gold standard—the fastest, safest, most reliable way.”
Beekhoo said providing a fiber connection could mean that other localities would want to join the regional system, as well, which would provide additional cost savings.
Love emphasized that Harris is in charge of engineering the new system, and that the sheriff is running point on the county’s involvement, so the decision would be theirs to make. However, he added, a fiber system would give the county many more options and provide redundancy and reliability.
“It would be a better backhaul at a lower cost,” he said.
In other matters, broadband board members met with the owner of H&S Development group to discuss the possibility of building a communications tower at the Mathews Volunteer Rescue Squad building at Hudgins.