New York City Pilot Program to Test Wireless Data Network for Police and Fire Departments

Yesterday, New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Acting Commissioner of the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) Ronald M. Bergmann announced plans to test two competing wireless technologies to create a Citywide Mobile Wireless Network (CMWN) for emergency responders.

In the first phase of the project, the two companies selected for the pilot -- Northrop Grumman Corporation and Motorola -- will install and test their wireless capabilities in Lower Manhattan. After the six-month pilot, the City may select one of the vendors to implement the wireless system citywide.

According to a City press release, the goal of this project is to evaluate networks that can provide emergency personnel in the field with immediate access to large file transfers, including maps, building layouts and federal and state anti-crime and counter-terrorism databases. For example, the network will support the ability to transmit police data on fingerprints, mug shots, and increase the Police Department's ability to improve surveillance and traffic management. In addition, the network will create high-speed links to existing NYPD, FDNY and EMS data systems. For the FDNY, the wireless network will help integrate technologies currently under development including wireless electronic command boards and firefighter tracking technology. The wireless network will also be able to support full-motion video and radiological and biological environmental monitoring. Other City agencies including the Department of Transportation, Department of Buildings, Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Consumer Affairs will also have access to the wireless network for field personnel dispatched throughout the City. These teams include maintenance workers, inspectors and other non-emergency field personnel.

Contract information:

Over the next six months, Northrop Grumman Corporation and Motorola will demonstrate how their respective wireless solutions meet these requirements. Both vendors will install equipment in test areas in Lower Manhattan and will conduct a 12-week head-to-head demonstration. The competing solutions will be evaluated and the product that best meets the City's needs will be considered for a citywide implementation. The cost of the pilot program will be $2.7 million. Should the City choose to implement one of programs being piloted the estimated cost will be $500 million -- the five-year cost of building and maintaining a citywide network. Each contract provides for a pilot phase to test the technology and a second phase, implemented at the City's discretion, to build-out a citywide network. If the City determines that it intends to proceed with one of the proposed solutions, then that contract will continue and the second vendor's contract will be cancelled. If the City determines that it does not intend to proceed with either solution, both contracts will be cancelled and DoITT will evaluate alternative technical solutions.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding may be available to contribute to the creation of a citywide wireless network; the City says it will pursue that funding aggressively.