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NYC Broadband Network Launches Citywide (5/21/09)
The New York City Wireless Network (NYCWiN), a UMTS-based high-speed mobile network at 2.5 GHz, is operational citywide. The New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) selected Northrop Grumman in 2006 for the five-year $500 million contract. The network is now operational across New York City’s more than 300 square miles and exceeds requirements for coverage and data throughput speed, according to city officials.

NYCWiN provides first responders high-speed data access to support large file transfers, including fingerprints, mug shots, city maps, AVL and full-motion streaming video. The fully interoperable, IP-based network enhances coordination by linking first responder personnel, on-scene, wirelessly with incident managers at remote sites through real-time data and video feeds.

"The NYCWiN technology platform provides data transfer speeds 100 times that of our legacy networks and enables us to deploy a wealth of broadband applications, including streaming video to increase situational awareness among our first responders," said Steve Harte, DoITT's associate commissioner of wireless technologies. "Leveraging this capability, we have also created an interoperable video management system (IVS) that allows the New York City Mayor's Office, NYPD, Fire Department, Office of Emergency Management and a variety of other agencies to access shared, incident-based video feeds as needed."

DoITT and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) are now working toward the installation of wireless modems in 1,800 marked patrol fleet vehicles, which will enable officers in the field to access critical applications via NYCWiN previously available only from their desktops, including mobile access to mug shots and moving traffic violations information.

Recent examples of IVS deployment include Operation Safe PATH 2009, a full-scale, multiagency exercise to test the city's and the Port Authority's response to an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonation on a New Jersey-bound Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) train and US Airways Flight 1549, which ditched into the Hudson River last January. In each case, the IVS was mobilized at the incident scene, enabling first responder command units to stream video back to the city's emergency operations centers.

Working with partner Grey Island, Northrop Grumman is also helping the city deploy an AVL system in nearly 400 vehicles across more than a dozen city agencies. In addition to building the system, Northrop Grumman manages daily network operations, including management of 24-hour network operations centers.

New York City officials have opposed the FCC’s plan for a nationwide broadband public-safety network, saying the 700 MHz D block spectrum should be allocated directly to public-safety agencies so they can build their own private broadband networks.

Jon Hambidge, IPWireless chief marketing officer, said the network uses Release 7 of the UMTS standard, and Release 8 of the standard is LTE technology. "A lot of cities have taken interest in what NYC is doing and are working through the technical and financial due diligence," said Jon Hambidge, IPWireless chief marketing officer. "It is a scalable solution. I think a lot of cities pay a lot of money to service providers, and all of that can go onto a government multiaccess network, and it does work for cities of all sizes." Your comments are welcome, click here.