[Scan-DC] NCR FIRST TO DEPLOY 700 MHZ PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATION

[Alan Henney]

-----Original Message----- 
From: Iverson, Dena (EOM) [mailto:Dena.Iverson at dc.gov]
Sent: Wed 2/28/2007 4:53 PM
Subject: Release: NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION FIRST TO DEPLOY 700 MHZ
WIRELESS NETWORK FOR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATION

Government of the District of Columbia
Executive Office of the Mayor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                MEDIA CONTACT:

February 28, 2007
OCTO: Aggie Nteta (202) 727-8761


Mafara Hobson (202) 727.2320


National Capital Region First to Deploy 700 MHz Wireless Network for
Public Safety communication

Competitive Contract for Regional Interoperability Awarded to
Alcatel-Lucent

Washington, DC—The National Capital Region (NCR), which includes the
District of Columbia and 18 other jurisdictions in Virginia and
Maryland, will be the first in the nation to establish a public safety
regional wireless network at 700 MHz. NCR has has competitively
selected Alcatel-Lucent as its equipment infrastructure vendor to
deploy the new Regional Wireless Broadband Network (RWBN).  It will
provide a seamless interoperable, redundant wireless broadband network
of networks with the capacity to transmit video, data and voice
communications with peak speeds of nearly 5 Mbps using only a paired
1.25 MHz channel.

The contract is an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ)
Contract, allowing the region to purchase the equipment and services
as funds are available.  Included in the contract are core networking
equipment, base stations, microcells, PDAs, AVL Modems and network
operations services.

“I am extremely proud of our ongoing achievements for public safety
communications, “said District of Columbia Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. “We
are eager to provide these critical interoperable tools to ultimately
assist anyone living in, working in or visiting our capital region.”

Alcatel-Lucent will deploy 1x Evolution-Data Optimized (1xEV-DO)
Revision A (Rev A) equipment with initial phase delivery by March 31,
2007.   This solution delivers the economy of scale of commercial
cellular technologies with public safety grade construction and
reliability.  Subscriber devices will be capable of roaming onto the
commercial networks when a user leaves the RWBN footprint.

“We have selected an excellent partner with Alcatel-Lucent and look
forward to working together to deliver these much needed solutions to
the region’s emergency personnel,” stated Robert LeGrande II, Interim
Chief Technology Officer for the District of Columbia.

The RWBN will use a portion of the 24 MHz currently assigned to
wideband communications in the 700 MHz Public Safety spectrum.  The
NCR has been awarded a waiver of a part of current Part 90 rules by
the Federal Communications Commission to enable broadband operations
in the band.

“This network will pave the way for the next generation public safety
communications platform that will not only provide enormous
capabilities and benefits to the NCR’s first responder community but
will also create a blueprint for the rest of the country,” said
Fairfax County, Virginia’s Chief Information Officer Wanda Gibson.

“This new network represents a major step towards seamless
interoperability for our region’s first responders,” stated John
Contestabile, Acting Assistant Secretary of Maryland’s Department of
Transportation.

About the National Capital Region Interoperability Program

The National Capital Region (NCR) includes the District of Columbia
and 18 other jurisdictions in the Commonwealth of Virginia and State
of Maryland. The NCR is headquarters to most of the federal government
’s critical public and military agencies, and remains venerable to
future terrorism.

The NCR Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs), who collectively govern
regional interoperability and interaction, tasked the NCR Metropolitan
Council of Government Chief Information Officers (MWCOG CIOs) to
implement the National Capital Region Interoperability Program
(NCRIP), to advance the NCR’s ability to provide and share critical
regional police, fire, health and medical, transportation and all
Emergency Support Function (ESF) agency data within the NCR.
Information interoperability, or data exchange, is one of the most
important methods to prevent, prepare, respond and resolve regional
emergencies.

In January 2007, the NCR was one of only six areas to receive the
highest score of “Advanced Implementation” on all three dimensions of
interoperable communications (governance, standard operating
procedures, usage) from the Department of Homeland Security.

For more information contact:
Aggie Nteta
(202) 727-8761
aggie.nteta at dc.gov