[TrunkCom] New Security Communications Plan

[sjw]

          August 2, 2002


    Northrop Reveals Security Communications Plan

By REUTERS

Filed at 5:16 p.m. ET

HERNDON, Va. (Reuters) - Northrop Grumman Corp. 
<http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=NOC> 
(NOC.N) on Friday proposed developing a high-speed national wireless 
network for about $2 billion to bolster emergency radio systems that 
broke down in the hours after the World Trade Center attack,

The No. 3-ranked U.S. defense contractor said it expected to announce on 
Monday that it has teamed with New Jersey wireless start-up Flarion 
Technologies to draw up a plan Northrop will present to ``Homeland 
Security'' planners.

Northrop told Reuters that the company is also working with network gear 
leader Cisco Systems Inc. 
<http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=CSCO> 
(CSCO.O) and mobile service provider Sprint PCS 
<http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=PCS> 
Group (PCS.N).

Northrop said the wireless system would run separately from existing 
commercial networks. It would be fast enough to allow police to identify 
suspects instantly either with fingerprint recognition technology or by 
taking a photo and sending it to a central office where it could be 
checked against existing database records.

The network, which Northrop hopes will link groups ranging from 
firefighters and medical workers to police and FBI agents, would allow 
emergency workers and police to talk to each other at the touch of a 
button using a walkie-talkie-like feature.

``Our first responders are the police and fire departments. They are now 
on the front line and we need a way for them to communicate and they're 
mobile,'' Pat Talty, director of communications systems for Northrop 
Grumman's Information Technology division told Reuters.

The idea of improving emergency services communications came to the fore 
after Sept. 11. Congress is currently working on the creation of a giant 
Homeland Security department last week that brings together a host of 
previously competing agencies.

The U.S. government has yet to reveal detailed plans for upgrading 
communication systems and federal contractors are mostly keeping their 
plans to themselves.

``The defense companies are positioning themselves for the forthcoming 
communications system work for homeland security but they are being very 
quiet about it for competitive reasons,'' JSA Research analyst Paul 
Nisbet said.

PROPOSED BUDGET

President Bush has proposed an additional $3.5 billion grant for U.S. 
emergency services, covering everything from training to communications 
improvements between local emergency services. Justice Department and 
FBI budget proposals also include spending on systems related to 
information sharing.

It is still unclear how much money will be earmarked for upgrading the 
emergency communications system, but Nisbet estimated the kitty could 
reach into the billions.

Northrop said it chose Flarion's proprietary system based on Orthogonal 
Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) over more conventional mobile 
phone technology because it can reach higher speeds and work better with 
backup satellite systems.

Northrop estimated the Flarion system could cost about $2 billion to 
install, excluding phone devices and maintenance.

The devices should be cheaper than radios currently used by emergency 
personnel because conventional handheld computers could be adapted for 
the network, Talty said.

The contractor said that a satellite system could be important to 
reconnect wireless network equipment in the event that phone lines in 
the ground are damaged. On Sept. 11, mobile phone service was disrupted 
in Lower Manhattan because on the ground network linking wireless 
equipment was damaged.

``The Flarion technology lends itself to this because you don't have to 
do frequency replanning to join the mobile network to the satellite. 
With the Department of Defense you have to work every scenario,'' Talty 
said. Replanning refers to the time-consuming task of adjusting 
equipment to different frequencies when the original equipment has failed.

The government has not set a specific timeframe for a network upgrade. 
Northrop and Flarion say they could install the system within two years 
from now, assuming that it takes a year for a contract to set-up and 
awarded.

While Sprint 
<http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=FON> 
is the first network to join with Northrop, Talty said he expects other 
U.S. mobile service providers to eventually come on board in order to 
create a truly national system.

Talty said that spare airwave capacity already under control of the U.S. 
government could be allotted to the project.


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