FAQs • Pierce County, WA • CivicEngage

Will first responders have to “compete” with other agencies such as utilities, school districts, general government, etc. for airtime on the system?: No, First Responders and Pierce Transit will always have priority on the system.

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CCN Frequently Asked Questions: New Customer Policy

1. Why did the CCN make the decision to require a one-time activation fee for new customers?: Pierce Transit and Pierce County invested over $44M into the Single County Wide Communications System (SCWCS) infrastructure. In order to comply with the state law that prohibits gifting of public funds, the CCN Executive Board adopted a one-time activation fee to recover the initial investment.

2. Will this impact current or future public safety/first responder customers?: No. Public safety/first responder customers will not be required to pay the activation fee.

3. Is there benefit of adding new customers onto the SCWCS?: Yes. As more customers come onto the network, the subscriber rate will decrease for all customers.

4. Will all new customers be required to pay the activation fee (option #1) adopted by the CCN Board?: No. Only non-public safety agencies will be required to pay the activation fee.

5. How will the activation fee be collected?: New customers can negotiate the terms for this fee. Options include payment over time or payment in full at contract execution.

6. Will first responders have to “compete” with other agencies such as utilities, school districts, general government, etc. for airtime on the system?: No, First Responders and Pierce Transit will always have priority on the system.

7. The rate model shows that 11,294 units is the maximum allowable capacity of subscriber units on the system, equal to 80% of the system. How was this number developed?: Determining the actual system capacity is a complex process as each customer’s operational requirements, talk groups, etc. are unique and have differing impacts on the available capacity of the SCWCS. The calculation was developed using a standard method averaging capacity usage at peak times.