EAST BRUNSWICK — The township is eyeing up a $5.1 million upgrade to its communication system to comply with a Federal Communication Commission mandate and improve an aging system.

The upgrade, which would be paid for by a $4.158 million bond ordinance and a mix of other funds, would comply with an FCC mandate to narrowband its radio frequencies, said township Emergency Management Coordinator Austin Kosik. With the mandate taking effect on Jan. 1, 2013, Kosik said, compliance is important, since the FCC could fine the township for failing to narrow-band its system.

In addition, Kosik said failure to change over could create potential radio interference between commercial users and township public safety officials.

“It will be interfering with our users here — police, EMS, fire and local government — and we would have no recourse in terms of any enforcement against them because we would be in violation, because we are not supposed to be in that bandwidth,” Kosik said.

But Kosik said the upgrade will have other benefits as well.

The current communications system is over 15 years old and is at the manufacturer’s “best effort” level of servicing, meaning that they will try their best to repair a part if it breaks.

“If you lose a component and they are making their best effort and they can’t get it repaired, then you are off the air,” Kosik said.

This new system would change that and also help to improve reception in areas of town where service is sometimes unreliable, Kosik said.

“We are going to have a current platform, current technology, fill in those holes that have coverage issues, and be compliant with the FCC mandate,” he said. “It’s a positive thing that the town is doing to stay current and improve the safety of the users who ultimately serve the public.”

Kosik estimated that the project would take about nine to 10 months to complete.

While they had concerns about the cost of the project, township officials said that several features of the project could help to save money down the line .

With the current system, the township leases space for a communications tower at a cost of $72,000 a year, Mayor David Stahl said. With the upgrade, a tower will be built on township owned property, which over the course of the new system’s predicted minimum 15- to 20-year lifespan, will save East Brunswick over $1 million, he said.

Stahl also pledged to the Township Council to trim the capital budget in the next year, borrowing less now to help control township debt in the future.

With East Brunswick taking the lead to narrow-band, Councilman Michael Hughes said the township will work to pursue shared service agreements for the new communication system. Currently, South River and the Spotswood and Milltown fire departments work off East Brunswick’s system .

“Hopefully, since we are ahead of the curve at putting this tower up and getting online earlier than we needed to, we will be able to persuade some other towns to join with us,” Hughes said. “Any monies that are received for the tower, they are going to be going right to property tax relief.”

The Township Council will hold a public hearing and vote on the bond ordinance to fund the project at a meeting on Nov. 28.

Contact Chris Zawistowski at czawistowski@gmnews.com.