County of Fresno enhances public safety

Fresno County, California, has chosen Nokia to upgrade its communications network in a bid to strengthen emergency response capabilities and enhance public safety.

Nokia will modernise the network using microwave packet radio and Internet Protocol/multi-protocol label switching (IP/MPLS) technology, which will provide secure, resilient and reliable data links for first responders and County facilities.

Nokia is also providing professional services such as network design and migration, installation and integration.

The network provides the backhaul capabilities for the county’s digital trunked radio system, which is used by police, firefighters and other public safety personnel to communicate with command centre and among themselves.

Once in place, the network can also be used to support services for a variety of other County agencies.

"The decision to go with Nokia was an easy one. In Nokia, we have found a financially strong and diverse technology provider that ties the end-to-end backhaul solution together under one network management platform,” said Jim Wickham, telecom systems manager, County of Fresno.

“Nokia’s Microwave Packet Radio and IP/MPLS technologies address a number of challenges we are facing today, while providing a foundation on which we can introduce new services in the future, including mobile broadband services via FirstNet.”

For this project, Nokia is supplying the County of Fresno with its 9500microwave packet radio and 7705 service aggregation router to provide IP, Ethernet, TDM and video services, and to support the transition to an all-IP network.

The IP/MPLS-enabled microwave network is managed by the Nokia network services platform, which simplifies management for improved operational efficiency, and is future-ready for software defined networking.

"Regional and municipal governments like the County of Fresno rely on communications networks for their most critical services, specifically public safety,” added Bob Fennelly, head of Nokia’s North American public sector business.

As service providers de-commission leased TDM services and public sector players move to replace their increasingly obsolete networks, they are looking for technology that will serve their needs well into the future, and has the capacity and flexibility to meet evolving requirements while supporting current legacy infrastructure needs.”

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