Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Cities, states spend millions on wireless

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 11:57:23 -0500

Tuesday
, February
10, 2004

Cities, states spend millions on wireless
BY Diane Frank
Jan. 26, 2004

Interoperable wireless communications for general emergency response and for
homeland security is becoming a top priority for
government officials across the country, with cities and states proposing to
spend millions on the technology.

In her state of the state address last week, Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner
highlighted the importance of the radio systems used by emergency workers. She
proposed $12 million to upgrade the state's 800 MHz system, "to broaden its
coverage and effectiveness for our police, fire, medical, public health,
environmental and other responders."

Delaware has had its system for several years, but officials within the
emergency response community have been discussing how "to take the 800-megahertz
system to the next level," Minner said in her speech.

Detroit officials are also looking at an 800 MHz system for the city and the
surrounding area, according to Shelby Slater, director of homeland security for
the city. He was speaking last week before the Task Force of Borders and Cities
at the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C.

City officials expect to spend more than $100 million on the system, which will
be powerful enough to use across the region and will also be interoperable with
the system set up by Michigan for state emergency personnel, he said.

Spending that much money on a new system isn't always an option, however.
Arizona decided to instead equip its first responders with a pod communications
system, which links existing systems through portable stations, Frank Navarette,
director of Arizona's homeland security, told the task force. This solution is
much less expensive than implementing a new communications infrastructure across
the state -- and inexpensive but functional is very important right now, he
said.

Because of budget pressures, Congress is encouraging states, cities and regions
to go this direction with their communications technology, Rep. Jim Turner
(D-Texas), ranking member on the House Select Committee on Homeland Security,
said at the task force meeting. Some of that encouragement will come in the
guidelines for homeland security-related grants, he said.

http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2004/0126/web-comm-01-26-04.asp
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