Sarasota County is considering a major upgrade to the radio system used by the fire, emergency medical services, law enforcement and Public Works departments throughout the county.

County officials are looking for a substantial upgrade to the current Project 25 800 megahertz digital radio system. Project 25, or P25, is a national open standard for public safety radios. There are a minimum of eight standards that must be met for anyone who wants to be P25 compliant. This means that users with radios manufactured by different companies can communicate without issue. The county uses the early version of P25 that was installed in 1998 and has had several modifications over the years.