When 911 dispatch goes down, the consequences aren't measured in lost revenue. They're measured in delayed response times. The radio systems, microwave links, generators, and PSAP equipment that support emergency communications have zero tolerance for undetected failures. Your monitoring has to work before anything else does.
At DPS Telecom, we've worked with public safety organizations monitoring 911 centers, radio towers, and dispatch infrastructure since 1986. Our clients include county emergency services offices monitoring multiple tower sites plus their central 911 center from a single system.
The failure modes in public safety networks aren't always dramatic. They're often quiet: a rectifier silently fails, a generator kicks on, and nobody knows. A week later, the generator runs out of fuel. The backup battery plant holds for a few more hours. Then the site goes dark.
That scenario isn't hypothetical. It's documented in field reports from public safety radio clients. The lesson: any single failure is manageable when you catch it early. A chain of undetected failures isn't.
As Fred Marvin of Steuben County Office of Emergency Services put it: "Because we operate in a 911 environment, it is better to know early rather than later if something happens. If they're trying to dispatch Fire, EMS, or public safety to an event, and the microwave is down, it means the radios at that site can't be operated either."
A complete monitoring setup for emergency communications infrastructure tracks conditions across multiple layers:
| Category | What to Monitor |
|---|---|
| Power | Generator voltage, battery voltage, rectifier status, commercial power loss, fuel level |
| RF / Transport | Microwave signal fade, radio forward/reflected power, link health |
| Environment | Temperature, humidity, smoke, water intrusion |
| Physical Security | Door contacts, motion sensors, unauthorized access |
| Equipment Alarms | Discrete alarm inputs from any device that outputs a contact closure or SNMP trap |
The goal is to know the difference between "High Microwave Noise," "Door Open," and "Commercial Power Fail," not just receive a generic "Major Alarm" that sends a technician on a four-hour round trip to find out what's actually wrong.
Request a Monitoring Consultation | 800-693-0351
NetGuardian RTUs are the field devices that collect alarm data at each remote site. They monitor discrete contact closures, analog inputs, environmental sensors, and equipment alarms, then forward that data to your central monitoring system or send direct notifications to your staff.
Steuben County's setup is a typical example: nine tower sites plus their 911 center, monitored with analog inputs for generator voltage and microwave signal fade, plus discrete alarms for door entry and temperature thresholds.
NetGuardian models for public safety applications:
Each unit supports Ethernet, serial, cellular, and other transport options, so connectivity at rural or mountaintop tower sites isn't a barrier.
If you're monitoring more than a handful of sites, you need a central system that aggregates everything into one view, not a browser tab for every RTU.
The T/Mon master station collects alarm data from all your remote sites and displays it on a geographic map. Active alarms appear as color-coded indicators. Technicians can drill from a regional view down to a site floor plan, and further to a rack photograph showing exactly where the problem is.
T/Mon supports 30+ protocols, which means it can integrate with both current IP-based equipment and legacy gear you've had in the field for decades, all in one system.
Multiple staff members can access it simultaneously, whether they're at NOC workstations or in the field via the web interface.
See T/Mon Master Station Details
The right alert needs to reach the right person fast. DPS monitoring systems support:
For high-priority alarms, an RTU can trigger a pre-recorded audio alert that broadcasts simultaneously across all radios on a channel. No dialing, no connection delays. This was purpose-built for a public safety client and has since become a standard option.
You can also build alarm response instructions directly into notifications, so any technician knows exactly what to do when they receive a "Low Fuel" alert at 2am.
Talk to an Engineer | 800-693-0351
DPS Telecom has been manufacturing remote monitoring equipment since 1986, with 172,800+ devices deployed and over 1,500 organizations served. We're ISO 9001 certified and manufacture everything in Fresno, California.
About 80% of public safety monitoring requirements fit our standard configurations. The remaining 20% typically involves some custom engineering, whether that's a specific protocol, an unusual number of alarm points, or an integration requirement. We don't charge non-recurring engineering fees for custom modifications when you meet our minimum order quantities.
When you call our technical support line, you're talking to an engineer, not a call center. The same team that designed the equipment helps you configure and troubleshoot it.
We also offer a 30-day loaner program for qualified clients. You pay shipping; we handle the rest.
Talk to an Engineer About Your 911 Network | 800-693-0351
What does a 911 infrastructure monitoring system actually watch? It monitors the supporting infrastructure: generator status, battery voltage, microwave signal strength, site temperature, door access, and equipment alarm outputs across your tower sites and dispatch center.
Can one system monitor both our 911 center and our tower sites? Yes. A central alarm master like T/Mon collects data from RTUs at each location and displays everything in one interface.
What happens if my primary network connection to a tower site goes down? NetGuardian RTUs support failover between transport types, such as falling back to cellular when a primary connection fails.
Do you support legacy equipment that uses proprietary protocols? Yes. T/Mon supports 30+ protocols, including many legacy and proprietary formats, so you don't have to replace functional equipment just to get it under your monitoring umbrella.
How quickly can DPS deploy a custom monitoring solution? Custom field trial units typically ship within approximately two months of finalizing requirements.