Howard County's new emergency radio system has passed an early stage of testing by broadcasting effectively over 95 percent of the county, authorities have announced.

Some county employees spent the month of June testing the hand-held radios in homes and locations throughout Howard. The radios are part of a $26.6 million system designed to upgrade police, fire and other rescue workers' radio communication, which is currently hampered by some blind spots.

The new radios will undergo further testing next month and are expected to go into wide use during the fall, county officials said.