[Scan-DC] Open Sky Lower Eastern Shore

[Shawnerz]

Bob,
As I understand it, NetowrkFirst is not OpenSky. 
NetworkFirst just switches all of the consoles,
infrustrcture and terrestrial equipment to Voice Over
IP (VOIP).
The IP packets get turned back to analog voice at the
site.  From there, the voice is connected to the site
equipment (system controllers/base
stations/whatever)it's up to the customer as to
whether the voice goes out as analog, or P25, or EDACS
or whatever equipment is at the site.
-Shawn
 
--- Bob Crain <applied@toad.net> wrote:
> Damn,
> 
> Just when the state is getting ready to embrace
> 700MHZ.
> 
> Bob Crain
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> $5.6 Million Project Will Connect Local, State and
> Federal Agencies
> Across
> Nine Counties on the Delmarva Peninsula
> 
> Lowell, MA, Mar. 4, 2004 - 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 Interoperability 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
> www.macom.com
> or
> 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 
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