System
addresses communication gap - Dallas first responders can
share information with other agencies via voice, video and
data with new technology
DALLAS -- In a significant step toward developing a statewide
system, law enforcement and government first responders in
Dallas now have the ability to communicate via voice, video
and data in the event of a catastrophic event.
Various local and state officials, including Steve McCraw,
Texas' director of homeland security, said the system, based
at Dallas Love Field and unveiled Thursday, addresses the
inability of emergency response personnel to communicate during
recent large-scale disasters, including 9-11, the Gulf Coast
hurricanes and the Panhandle wildfires.
Many devices communicate only with other devices made by
the same manufacturer. Studies show that 1 of 3 joint operations
are impeded by poor communications.
"If you've got a firefighter in Corpus Christi and he
comes up to Dallas, he ought to be able to talk to a Dallas
firefighter using his own equipment," McCraw said.
State officials envision a network able to coordinate mutual
aid communications statewide by Jan. 7. Mobile vehicles can
be fitted with the equipment to bring network service to remote
areas of the state.
At Love Field, hand-held push-to-talk devices already allow
city, airport and Southwest Airlines workers to use a simultaneous
array of communications.
The Love Field project, paid for with a $979,100 Homeland
Security grant, has a service area that includes Dallas County
and parts of Collin County.
There is no timetable for expansion of the system to the
rest of the North Central Texas Council of Governments region,
said Mark Tucker, chief executive of CoCo Communications Corp.,
the system creator. The project might become a model for expanding
interoperability nationwide.
The CoCo system is relatively inexpensive because it uses
many devices already in hand, rather than requiring replacements.
Essentially, it bridges individual networks, creating a "network
of networks," officials said.
Love Field was selected for the project because of its strategic
importance and high concentration of nearby targets.
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