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Gov. O'Malley Completes Call on Maryland First Responders Interoperable Radio System

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TMCnews Featured Article


June 06, 2012

Gov. O'Malley Completes Call on Maryland First Responders Interoperable Radio System

By Tanya Palta, TMCnet Contributing Writer


Yesterday was an important day for the Maryland FiRST, aka the Maryland First Responders Interoperable Radio System Team, as Gov. Martin O’Malley made the first call on the robust system. The Governor contacted the state police and local government officials at Pikesville, Cecil County, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (News - Alert), and Kent County on the Eastern Shore from his location at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore.


The new system, which has been designed and installed by Motorola (News - Alert) Solutions, delivers state agencies and local jurisdictions access to a digital and secure radio system for emergency communications. Existing public safety radio systems will also be compatible with Maryland FiRST and the initial phase attending central Maryland and the I-95 corridor, will be fully operational by the end of this year.

The Maryland FiRST has been designed to be a unified, interoperable communications system and is the first interoperable statewide 700 MHz radio communications system in Maryland for state and local public safety agencies. The on board P25 Phase 2 TDMA lets the Maryland Transportation Authority Police and Kent County adhere to the narrow banding requirements established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC (News - Alert)) before the Jan. 1, 2013, deadline.

According to a press release, the first users of the system will be Maryland Transportation Authority, Maryland State Police and Kent County and the initial phase will provide coverage to assist one-third of Maryland's estimated population of nearly six million and two-thirds of the state’s critical infrastructure. The entire phase will be completed by 2016, which will let Maryland police, firefighters, emergency medical services (EMS), emergency management personnel and other first responders to connect on the same system.

Martin O’Malley, governor, state of Maryland said, "All of the radios that our police officers and firefighters carry should enable them to communicate with other jurisdictions or departments, not only during large-scale emergencies, but also for basic, daily operations. By building Maryland FiRST, we are making great progress toward this critical goal of interoperability for our public safety agencies. Our first responders deserve modern communications equipment to perform their jobs in the safest and most effective way possible."

Mark Moon, executive vice president of Sales and Field Operations, Motorola Solutions, Inc. added, “Helping our federal, state and local government customers achieve maximum interoperability is a high priority for Motorola Solutions. We are pleased to work with the state of Maryland to establish Maryland FiRST and create a fully digital and secure radio system that enables police and other first responders to react quickly and effectively in emergencies. First responders will rely on Maryland FiRST to complete their missions, and Motorola is committed to providing the dependable communications they need.”




Edited by Jamie Epstein







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