Outdated microwave link equipment that is crucial for 911 service is taking a top priority.

On Thursday, the Carbon County Commissioners approved a proposal with Radio Maintenance Inc. of Reading to purchase new microwave link equipment.Connections will be made from the Broad Mountain to the Bear Mountain 911 tower site and from Pimple Hill in Monroe County to the Bear Mountain 911 tower site. Critical spare equipment will be added.The cost for the upgrade is $338,646.Commissioners' Chairman Wayne Nothstein said that the existing equipment is obsolete and the county can no longer get parts to repair it.A microwave link is a communications system that uses a beam of radio waves in the microwave frequency range to transmit information between two fixed locations.Since the microwave system transfers radio calls from one tower to the other, it is a crucial part in the 911 system.Nothstein said the project, slated for later in the year, was pushed up because of the problems with the radio frequencies that the county has been experiencing.This project now jumps in front of the computer-aided dispatch project that will take place at the 911 center.The commissioners said the project will be completed within the next few months.In other matters, the commissioners voted to approve a contract with Mid Atlantic Solid Waste Consultants for services relative to updating the county's 10-year Solid Waste Management Plan. The cost for the project shall not exceed $74,500.Commissioner William O'Gurek said that the county is required to update the plan every 10 years. Since the last update, Carbon has closed its recycling department."This will call for substantial revisions," he said. The plan will also look at all municipalities' contracts for recycling and garbage.The plan makes sure the county reserves enough capacity at landfills for the next decade for refuse that is generated.