Anne Arundel County to Demonstrate
One-of-a-Kind Emergency Command Center
August 16, 2005
Annapolis, Maryland—County Executive Janet S. Owens today announced that the County’s new mobile Emergency Command Center will be launched on August 23 during a demonstration of a mock emergency. The Mobile Command and Communications vehicle was acquired by the County last month and, in partnership with ARINC, has been outfitted with first-of-its-kind technology that allows interoperability between emergency agencies and would provide seamless government operations in the event of a disaster.
Anne Arundel County will exhibit the very latest in mobile emergency command centers on August 23—its new Mobile Command and Control Unit, MCCU-1. It’s not merely equipped to connect local fire and police radios—but also to connect local responders regardless of the communications device they are using with neighboring counties, state and federal emergency authorities, law enforcement agencies, and others—across a national network.
First responders and other public safety authorities who have grown accustomed to their own communications equipment will not have to be retrained on AWINSTM as the technology operates across all existing communications devices.
County Executive Janet S. Owens will introduce MCCU-1 to the press and public at an Annapolis event on Tuesday morning, August 23. Plans include a mock emergency scenario and live demonstrations of the new command center’s capabilities. Activities will begin at 11 a.m., in the main parking lot of ARINC Incorporated, at 2551 Riva Road.
What sets Anne Arundel’s mobile command center apart is the new technology inside—a system developed by ARINC to link all types of emergency radio systems, telephones, wireless systems, and data networks. The goal is interoperability—allowing emergency agencies to talk together without replacing their existing communications systems.
The technology is AWINS, or ARINC Wireless Interoperable Network Solutions. It works by digitizing the signals from any connected devices into a common IP protocol. This IP architecture allows AWINS to connect virtually any communications devices together.
The Anne Arundel Mobile Command & Communications Unit MCCU-1 boasts dozens of different types of connectivity. It could connect a county firefighter to a hospital doctor, a ship’s captain to the FBI, or a forest ranger to FEMA headquarters.
MCCU-1 is equipped to handle 7 types of radio connections, over the VHF-Hi, UHF-Hi, UHF-Lo, 800MHz, Aviation, Marine, and Amateur bands. A satellite feed like a TV remote provides a direct broadband connection to Anne Arundel’s main communications network, police mobile data network, and PBX telephone system. The satellite connection also allows video teleconferencing and real-time remote video surveillance.
Anne Arundel County is the first municipality in the U.S. to install ARINC’s AWINS technology in a mobile command center.
ARINC Incorporated is the world leader in transportation communications and systems engineering. The company develops and operates communications and information processing systems and provides systems engineering and integration solutions to five key industries: airports, aviation, defense, government, and surface transportation. Founded to provide reliable and efficient radio communications for the airlines, ARINC is headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, and operates key regional offices in London and Singapore, with over 3,000 employees worldwide. ARINC is ISO 9001:2000 certified.
Release:
05-140
Stephen E. Means
Vice President, Marketing & Sales
corpcomm@arinc.com
410-266-4652
