Mayor David N. Cicilline and Motorola, announced the purchase of a $2.3 million, state-of-the-art mesh networking communications system for Providence public safety departments. The secure, wireless, roving network will enable every mobile unit to access large amounts of data at a moment's notice and from any location in the city. With this technology, police reports, suspect profiles, building blueprints and medical records can be instantly available as a crisis unfolds.
"We are giving our fine public safety officials the best tools available to become even faster, smarter, and safer," said Mayor David N. Cicilline. "Out on the beat or at an emergency scene they'll be able to instantly access the kind of robust information they could previously only get at headquarters."
The Mobile Data Communications Network (MDCN) being purchased from Motorola will increase the speed of mobile data access by nearly 100 times. This capability will enable the transfer of digital video and other high bandwidth applications.
The purchase is funded by a variety of grants. The largest sources of grant funding come from the Federal Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. The network is scheduled to be operational in early 2006.
"This technology will have an immediate impact on the safety of Providence residents," said Colonel Dean Esserman, Chief of Police. "It puts the power of our best crime fighting software on the dashboard of every car."
"If we get a call for a structure fire, this will allow us to download the floor plans right to the fire truck en route," said Fire Chief David Costa of the Providence Fire Department. "The bottom line is it will make us faster, and speed saves lives."
The MDCN is a major upgrade from the existing Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) wireless data communications system, which is being discontinued. The CDPD system transmits data at less than half the speed of a home dial-up modem.
"With this technology, Providence dramatically advances the capability of its public safety communications system," said Chief Information Officer for the City of Providence, Charles Hewitt. "We reviewed a whole range of products and this was by far the best in terms of cost and functionality."
"Providence is demonstrating leadership with its visionary use of wireless technology to improve public safety and the delivery of public services across the city," added Greg Brown, president of Motorola's Government & Enterprise Mobility Solutions (GEMS) business unit. "By deploying our high-performance mesh networking solution, Providence can rollout a single wireless network that provides secure connectivity and bandwidth to multiple municipal agencies. The resulting cost saving and productivity gains realized will provide real benefits to the entire community."
