Rockwall County, TX

Bobby Jones served as the lead engineering consultant and project manager for Rockwall County’s Project 25 (P25) trunked simulcast radio system. Over a three-year period, he provided full lifecycle consulting services, guiding the County and its participating cities through planning, procurement, implementation, and final system acceptance. 

This project required close coordination among multiple agencies, including Rockwall County, the Rockwall County Sheriff’s Office, and the cities of Fate, Heath, McLendon-Chisholm, Rockwall, and Royse City, all working toward a shared, countywide communications system. 

As the County’s lead radio consultant, Bobby worked directly with County leadership, public safety officials, and technical staff to define system requirements and deliver a reliable, interoperable solution. His responsibilities included:

• Leading system planning, needs analysis, and conceptual design 
• Evaluating an existing vendor proposal and identifying deficiencies in coverage, reliability, and cost 
• Developing budgetary cost estimates and system alternatives 
• Authoring the technical portions of the Request for Proposal (RFP) 
• Guiding proposal evaluation, vendor selection, and contract negotiations 
• Providing project management and technical oversight throughout implementation 
• Supporting system acceptance testing, including functional and coverage validation

During the planning phase, Rockwall County had received a non-competitive vendor proposal that did not meet system requirements. Bobby led a detailed technical review that identified key deficiencies and helped the County transition to a competitive procurement process. 

He developed the technical RFP, guided a structured proposal evaluation process, and led contract negotiations. The County ultimately awarded an $8.4 million contract for a new P25 system through a competitive and defensible procurement process. 

The resulting system included:

• 700 MHz Project 25 Phase II VIDA trunked simulcast architecture
• Five simulcast repeater sites
• Fully redundant high availability geographically split VIDA Cores 
• Seven-hop loop-protected MPLS microwave network 
• Dispatch equipment for two dispatch centers (City of Rockwall, Rockwall County Sheriff’s Office) 
• Approximately 800 mobile and portable radios 

This project required balancing technical performance, cost, and multi-agency requirements, while ensuring interoperability with surrounding public safety systems in the Dallas-area region. 

During implementation, Bobby provided ongoing technical oversight and acted as the primary liaison between the County and the radio vendor. His responsibilities included:

• Reviewing vendor designs and managing project schedule 
• Supporting frequency licensing and interoperability planning 
• Reviewing and managing change orders 
• Inspecting and approving system installations 
• Developing and participating in functional and coverage acceptance testing 
• Overseeing system cutover and final acceptance 

He also played a key role in managing unforeseen project challenges, including tower site changes and subcontractor issues, ensuring that risks to cost and schedule were minimized and largely transparent to the County.

Rockwall County successfully implemented a countywide, interoperable P25 radio system supporting all participating agencies. The system demonstrated strong reliability and coverage performance, and the structured procurement and implementation approach helped ensure a successful project delivery aligned with the County’s operational and financial goals.