[Scan-DC] M/A-COM to Provide Interoperable Comms for Maryland's Eastern Shore

[Alan Henney]

M/A-COM's NetworkFirst Selected to Provide Interoperable Public Safety
Communications for Maryland's Eastern Shore

$5.6 Million Project Will Connect Local, State and Federal Agencies
Across
Nine Counties on the Delmarva Peninsula

LOWELL, Mass., March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/-- M/A-COM, Inc., a
business
unit of Tyco Electronics and a leading manufacturer of critical radio
systems
deployed around the world, today was awarded a $5.6 million contract
from
Worcester County, Maryland to provide public safety communications
connectivity for the Maryland Eastern Shore Inter-Operability Network.
(MESIN). MESIN is a network that will serve the first responders on
the
Eastern Shore of Maryland. M/A-COM will implement its NetworkFirst
solution
to connect state, county, and municipal law enforcement, fire,
emergency
medical services and the Coast Guard active along Maryland's
coastline.


Maryland's Eastern Shore encompasses nine counties including Worcester
County, which is host to one of the state's largest tourist areas,
Ocean City,
and takes in more than 3,000,000 visitors between Memorial Day and
Labor Day.
Public safety officials must keep close watch over this traveling
population
and be ready to respond to fires, traffic accidents, and other
tourism-related
mishaps in addition to local emergencies. In addition, the Eastern
Shore's
proximity to the city of Baltimore and Washington D.C. means that
responders
must also be prepared to handle threats or large-scale disasters
affecting the
Baltimore metropolitan area and the National Capital Region.


"To face widely-varied emergency situations on the Eastern Shore,
public
safety personnel from multiple agencies, on various disparate systems,
must be
able to communicate effectively," said Teresa Owens, Director,
Department of
Emergency Services, Worcester County. "With M/A-COM's NetworkFirst,
we're
getting a very powerful tool that will lead to better communications
and
improved effectiveness for Maryland Eastern Shore public safety
organizations."


NetworkFirst links together disparate radio system types that use
different frequency bands by converting audio signals into digital
packets of
data that can then be easily transported over a wide area IP
packet-switched
network. Gateways, routers and a fully redundant switch will be
integrated
with existing Eastern Shore county, municipal, state and federal area
communications systems to enable immediate interoperability between
different
radios systems used in the area. With the new M/A-COM system, law
enforcement,
fire and emergency medical services officers and various state and
federal
agencies will finally be able to communicate seamlessly, while still
using
their existing radios.


Maryland relies on a large and varied contingency of public safety
personnel, including law enforcement, and emergency response
providers; all of
whom must be able to communicate in times of crisis. Because the
region
currently has four different communications systems in place across
the nine
counties, interoperability between radios and tracking equipment has
been a
major issue. To facilitate real-time communications between the
various local,
state and federal agencies on the Eastern Shore, the MESIN project
will employ
NetworkFirst to provide interoperability across the entire region.

"Public safety agencies today constantly wrestle with communications
incompatibility, and vital personnel simply can't reach each other
during
crisis situations," says Jane Wargo, Regional Sales Manager, M/A-COM.
"Worcester County has asked us to solve this very problem, and
NetworkFirst
will be the solution."

About M/A-COM
M/A-COM, Inc., a business unit of Tyco Electronics, is a leading
supplier
of critical communications systems and equipment for public safety,
utility,
federal and select commercial markets. Products range from some of the
most
advanced IP-based voice and data networks to traditional wireless
systems to
offer customers the highest levels of reliability, interoperability,
scalability and security. M/A-COM is also a recognized leader in the
design
and manufacture of radio frequency (RF), microwave and millimeter wave
solutions for the commercial wireless telecommunications, aerospace
and
defense industries. Headquartered in Lowell, MA, M/A-COM has offices
and
manufacturing facilities worldwide. Information about M/A-COM can be
found on
the Web at http://www.macom.com or http://www.macom-wireless.com.

About Tyco Electronics
Tyco Electronics is one of the major business segments of Tyco
International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC, LSE: TYI, BSX: TYC). Tyco Electronics
is the
world's largest passive electronic components manufacturer; a world
leader in
cutting-edge wireless, active fiber optic and complete power systems
technologies; and is also rapidly developing extensive networking and
building
technology installation services. Tyco Electronics provides advanced
technology products from over forty well-known and respected brands,
including
Agastat, Alcoswitch, AMP, AMP NETCONNECT, Buchanan, CII, CoEv,
Critchley,
Elcon, Elo TouchSystems, M/A-COM, Madison Cable, OEG, OneSource
Building
Technologies, Potter & Brumfield, Raychem, Schrack, Simel and TDI
Batteries.

M/A-COM, Tyco and NetworkFirst are trademarks.
Other products, logos and Company names mentioned herein may be
trademarks
of their respective owners.

For sales information, please contact:
M/A-COM, Inc.
1011 Pawtucket Blvd.
Lowell, MA 01853
United States - 1.800.528.7711
Canada - 1.800.368.3277
Middle East/Africa -- +1.434.455.9229
Asia/Pacific -- +1.434.455.9238
Europe -- +1.434.455.9238
Latin America -- +1.434.455.9236

Editorial Contact:
Dave Hutcheson
M/A-COM, Inc.
978/442-4047
hutchesd@tycoelectronics.com

Mike Ratcliff
Tyco Electronics
717-592-2316
mike.ratcliff@tycoelectronics.com