Subject: [NEXTEL-1] "Walker Creates Public Safety Network"

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 13:29:45 -0500

"Walker Creates Public Safety Network"
Deseret News (11/08/03) P. B2; Dobner, Jennifer

Utah's new governor, Olene Walker, plans to deploy a
statewide "Wireless Integrated Network" (UWIN) in order to
facilitate communication between police, fire, and other
agencies. UWIN will allow workers to exchange messages via
voice, computer, or video during emergencies or for everyday
uses. Walker became aware of the need for such technology in
1999 when a tornado caused radio frequencies and phone cell
systems to be blocked. UWIN will operate by connecting
various radio frequencies with voice systems so that users
will not have to turn to different communication modes (such
as phones) to get in touch with one another, Walker says.
The first step of the governor's plan is establishing voice
technology, which is expected to be ready by July 2004. The
next phase includes connecting video and computer data
technology to dispatch hubs. This involves connecting
highway video systems and police car video systems to the
dispatch centers. Camille Anthony of the Department of
Administrative Services says Utah plans to fund the new
technology through federal grants and re-channeled state
grants, and Walker has set up a UWIN board consisting of
officials from various agencies including local law
enforcement, fire, the Public Safety Department, and the
Division of Information Technology.
====================================================

Walker creates public safety network

Communications in emergencies will be improved

By Jennifer Dobner
Deseret Morning News

Among the first initiatives for Utah's new governor is a wireless
communications network to link public safety first-responders from Box
Elder to San Juan County and everyplace in between.

In her first executive order, Gov.
Olene Walker debuted her plan for
Utah's Wireless Integrated Network —
or UWIN — at a press conference in
the state's emergency operations
command center Friday. UWIN is just
one element in the overall "Walker
Work Plan," a three-pronged set of
initiatives that the new governor said
includes "maximizing human potential;
working smarter; and improving Utah,
today and tomorrow."

UWIN falls into the category of
improving the state "today and
tomorrow." Its goal is to ensure that whether it's a catastrophic
emergency or in basic day-to-day operations, police, fire and other public
safety agencies have the ability for real-time, immediate communications
whether by voice or through computer and video mediums, she said.
"There are a lot of reasons why this is important," she said. "It's
multiple agencies working together to get the job done."
Walker said the communication challenges between Utah's rural and
urban public safety agencies have long been discussed, but solutions
were never found despite repeated reminders of the critical need.
In August 1999, for example, when a tornado whipped through
downtown Salt Lake City, public safety officials told the then-lieutenant
governor that their biggest problem was talking to each other. They
couldn't do it over radio frequencies and cell phone systems were
jammed.

"I said right then, we need to solve this problem," she said.
With UWIN, voice technologies will link differing radio frequencies,
Walker said. A Salt Lake County-based police officer could communicate
with an officer or dispatch center without having to switch to another
communication medium, such as a phone.
Voice technology is the first
phase of Walker's plan and she
has set a July 2004 deadline for it
to be operational. Phase two of
the plan will include video and
computer data technology, which
could link dispatch centers with
video cameras that monitor
highway traffic or ones in police
cars. That could make it possible
for a police dispatcher to have a
bird's-eye view of an accident
scene and ensure the exactness of
the public safety response, she
said. Doctors could also view an
accident scene to assess the care
the injured will need, and
firefighters should be able to see
inside a burning structure before making an attack.
Walker also envisions UWIN applications beyond public safety,
including linking state education programs and health care services or
outlets.

"Time and time again we are going to see this system benefit the
citizens of our state," Walker said.

At the moment, a total price tag for UWIN remains an unknown. The
state plans to pay for the new technology by reallocating existing state
funds and through federal grants, Camille Anthony, executive director of
the Department of Administrative Services, said. Part of Walker's
directive is that the state bear the costs and not pass those on to local
entities, Phil Bates, the Department of Public Safety's director of
services, added.

Walker has also established the UWIN board, a collaborative of
officers and experts from the Department of Public Safety, Division of
Information Technologies, Department of Health, the Utah National
Guard, Utah Communication Agency Network as well as public and higher
education and local law enforcement and fire agencies. The role of the
board will be to identify state capabilities and help facilitate the network
links.

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,525036567,00.html

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