SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Aug 19, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ — The Motorola Solutions business of Motorola (NYSE: MOT) and the Public Safety Agencies within the greater San Francisco Bay Area received $50.6 million in grant funding today from the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The NTIA grant will be funding the Bay Area Wireless Enhanced Broadband (BayWEB) program through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), which provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure to connect “community anchor institutions” such as schools, libraries, hospitals, and public safety facilities. The standards based Public Safety subsystem will utilize Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology operating on 700 MHz frequencies to provide mobile broadband service to public safety first responders.
“Motorola is proud to participate in one of the first projects for public safety funded by the NTIA,” said Greg Brown, CEO, Motorola Solutions. “The BayWEB project will directly address the many challenges that public safety faces in the Bay Area by providing first responders with a hardened public safety network that will be available in emergencies, natural disasters and catastrophic events, while also providing community anchor institutions, business and residential end users with affordable Internet access services.”
The program involves a multi-jurisdiction and multi-disciplinary approach to interoperability, and includes communications capabilities for first responders and public safety professionals, as well as all other government services including public works, transportation agencies, and critical infrastructure organizations. BayWEB is a component of the Bay Area Regional Interoperable Communications System (BayRICS). BayRICS also consists of a P25 voice system, microwave system, and information sharing applications.
“When a major earthquake or disaster strikes next in the Bay Area, a regional, secure and dedicated communications network for our first responders will literally save lives, prevent further damage and protect public health and safety,” said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. “I am proud that, working together with cities and our public safety and law enforcement agencies throughout the region, the Bay Area will now be one of the nation’s first regions to deploy this innovative emergency broadband communications network.”
The BTOP application was submitted on behalf of a public-private partnership between Motorola and the San Francisco Bay Area Public Safety Agencies as represented by the Alameda County Sheriff as executive sponsor of the BayRICS Policy Group and Regional Mutual Aid Coordinator for Region 2, the Northern California Coastal Region, which includes the entire Bay Area and the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center (Fusion Center).
“I am honored to be the Executive Sponsor for a project of this magnitude,” said Sheriff Gregory J. Ahern, Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. “The implementation of this technology for first responders is another critical step in achieving true public safety interoperability. I am confident that we will set the stage for public safety agencies throughout the United States to replicate our project.”
The BTOP funding announced today will leverage Project Cornerstone, an LTE demonstration project using an experimental FCC license, to include the larger Bay Area utilizing almost 200 pre-existing sites. This demonstration is the first of its kind for Public Safety within the nation utilizing the 700MHz spectrum. Additionally, this funding will provide a public access network to serve schools, hospitals, libraries and community colleges throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area Region. This award will create an estimated 1,315 jobs for the Bay Area.
Motorola Next Generation Public Safety platform is focusing extensive investment in resources and development to drive the critical innovations in the mission critical core, applications and devices necessary to serve the unique requirements of public safety. Additionally, Motorola will deliver the full spectrum of advanced services to design, implement, support, secure, and manage the next generation public safety platform to rapidly operationalize and deliver value for public safety agencies. For public safety representatives interesting in reading more about the Next Generation of Public Safety visit www.motorola.com/nextgen.
About Motorola
Motorola is known around the world for innovation in communications and is focused on advancing the way the world connects. From broadband communications infrastructure, enterprise mobility and public safety solutions to mobile and wireline digital communication devices that provide compelling experiences, Motorola is leading the next wave of innovations that enable people, enterprises and governments to be more connected and more mobile. Motorola (NYSE: MOT) had sales of US $22 billion in 2009. For more information, please visit www.motorola.com.
