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.