[ScanIndiana] From trunkedradio.net

[Matthew C. Payne]

Got this from http://www.trunkedradio.net/

The Midwest Public Safety Communications Consortium (MPSCC) was formed
this year by law enforcement agencies in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky,
Michigan and Ohio. Today�s meeting is the first of a series of meetings
that is expected to create the nation�s widest area of interoperable radio
communications network for police, fire and emergency medical service
departments that would stretch from Zanesville in East Central Ohio to the
Quad Cities in Illinois and from the Appalachian Mountains in Southern
Kentucky to the Michigan Upper Peninsula.

Currently, each state is building a unified communications network that
allows a variety of public safety agencies to communicate on a single
state-of-the-art radio network. This approach will allow agencies near a
jurisdictional border to communicate with their peers in neighboring
states. This will result in improved front line public safety response to
combat crime, enhanced coordination of initial response to traffic
collisions and save lives though more efficient response to major
catastrophic events. This effort will also serve to enhance the
communications capability of the neighboring states in response to a
Homeland Security event. It also reduces costs for local government
agencies that join state networks. �Crime and catastrophes don�t stop at
the state line,� said Col. Stephen D. Madden, Michigan State Police
Director. �This is an extremely important use of our technology and will
help us better coordinate tactical operations in state border areas, so we
can catch criminals faster, prevent injuries and fatalities, respond
faster to natural disasters, and enhance our homeland security efforts.�
Recent studies have concluded that lack of public safety interoperability
was a significant contributing factor to many casualties that occurred at
the World Trade Center and the Pentagon during last year�s Sept. 11
tragedies.