UCLA Procedure 350.4:	Two-way Radio Services
Issuing Officer:	Administrative Vice Chancellor	Printable View
Responsible Dept:	Communications Technology Services
Effective Date:	July 16, 2001
Supersedes:	UCLA Procedure 350.4, dated 9/1/1985

I. REFERENCES

1. UCLA Policy 350, Telecommunications Systems Services;
   
   
2. UCLA Communications Technology Services Web site.
   

II. BACKGROUND

Communications Technology Services (CTS) supports a private Motorola 800 MHz radio system (UCLA Radio System) to provide portable and mobile radio coverage throughout the UCLA campus, Center for Health Sciences (CHS), Medical Plaza, and between campus and designated off-campus locations such as student apartments and Santa Monica Hospital. Portable, wireless radios enable group and private conversations while users are in the UCLA area.

In addition, the UCLA Radio System interacts with similar systems at other UC campuses. If a major crisis should occur, emergency support personnel can be deployed from one or more campuses to the campus in need of the resource. Such personnel can take their Motorola radios with them and when required, can utilize pre-determined radio identification numbers reserved for emergency use only. In order to secure such emergency resources, each campus is required to reserve certain mutual aid channels and common talkgroups exclusively for this purpose.

III. STATEMENT

The UCLA Radio System is to be used only for official campus business. It is primarily for use by the UC Police Department (UCPD), Campus Fire Marshal, CHS Security, Santa Monica-UCLA Hospital Operations, Environment Health & Safety, Facilities Management, Parking Enforcement and Parking Services, all of whom perform emergency services functions. CTS is responsible for the coordination of the UCLA Radio System.

The UCLA Hospital & Medical Center maintains a radio paging system for use primarily by medical and medical support staff that is not covered under this procedure. Responsibility for the establishment and maintenance of that system is achieved through the Communications Center - Medical Center, Room A7-180 CHS, extension 56929.

A. Access and Capacity

1. Channel Access Prioritization - User radios are assigned to talkgroups that are given an access priority level based on the critical function(s) of each department and the need for channel access during busy periods. Priority Level 1 is designated exclusively for the purpose of "Alert", or notification of life-threatening circumstances, and is assigned to UCPD, Campus Fire Marshal, and HazMat units.
   
   
2. Talk-group Capacity & Utilization - Based on system engineering practice, the UCLA Radio System is intended to accommodate no less than 50-99 radios per talkgroup, with minimum talkgroup usage of 100 minutes per week.
   
   
3. Telephone Interconnect & Private Call Features - Private calls between radios or from a radio to the public telephone network are limited to one channel in order to avoid inordinate system busy conditions.

B. Radio Usage Restrictions

1. Radio Use in Hospital Facilities or near Hazardous Conditions - Currently, all wireless communications devices, including 800 MHz portable radios, are not allowed in hospital facilities where life support medical equipment is used. Motorola radios exceed the 50 milliwatt maximum radio frequency (RF) radiation limit and therefore are strictly prohibited. Only radios with the Intrinsically Safe feature may be used in hazardous areas in which fire-generating elements and/or conditions may occur.
   
   
2. Radio Use during Bomb Threats - Standard radio practice prohibits the transmission of radio signals in an area where a bomb may be located due to possible RF triggering of the device. If suspicious devices are found, all radio users located in/around the area should refrain from broadcasting any radio transmissions. All radio transmissions should occur outside of the affected area unless they are part of the public safety response/team. Radio users in the affected area may be vacated and/or asked to 'turn off' their radios by public safety personnel.
   

IV. PROCEDURES

Departments and units with legitimate campus business use needs may order UCLA Radio System components in accordance with the following:

A. Ordering Products and Services

B. Troubleshooting and Repair

1. System-wide - A joint agreement between CTS and UCPD has been established for any system-wide trouble. In the event UCPD dispatch personnel should encounter any radio dispatch console trouble that is outside the normal operations of the consoles or that may affect the transmission or receiving to and from field units, UCPD is authorized to contact the maintenance vendor, Advanced Electronics, Inc., directly and without CTS intervention. For complete instructions on system repair reporting and rectification, refer to the CTS Radio System Repair Procedure, available from CTS.
   
   
2. Portable units - see procedures below for customer owned and leased units: