According to an announcement from contract winner Alcatel-Lucent, the broadband network will increase the reliability of critical incident management data for all first responders across the city and Mecklenburg County, and improve the ability of networks supporting first responders in communicating with other local and national law enforcement and emergency response agencies.
The network will also make possible additional capabilities like mobile video, field use of fingerprint and face recognition identification software, and enhanced medical interoperability between first responders and hospitals.
The majority of the funding will comes from the $16.7 million Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant awarded to Charlotte last year by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Charlotte expects the network’s deployment will be complete by July 2013.
