Countywide : PacTel Wins Contract for Freeway Call Boxes

Los Angeles-based PacTel Cellular was awarded a $4.91-million contract Monday by the agency that is establishing Orange County’s first freeway system of emergency call boxes.

The Orange County Transportation Commission, in its capacity as the Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies (SAFE), voted unanimously to give PacTel the contract after reviewing proposals from more than half a dozen firms. Under the contract, PacTel has agreed to provide cellular radio telephone service to as many as 1,250 call boxes to be installed at the rate of about 80 per month, beginning in October. The first emergency boxes will be placed along the Orange Freeway, California 57.

Earlier this year, an Orange County firm won the contract to build and install the solar-powered equipment, a task separate from that of providing the actual radio signals that will carry the calls to the California Highway Patrol dispatch center in Santa Ana. The basic charge for service will be $16 per call box per month, payable to PacTel, for cellular system air time and connections.

Under the contract approved Monday, SAFE acknowledged that motorists may not be able to complete a call if all available channels are busy. However, SAFE officials believe such incidents will occur rarely, if at all. A $1 surcharge on motor vehicle license fees pays for the SAFE program.