PSIC Grant Information

The Public Safety Interoperable Communications (PSIC) Program assists state and local first responders in improving public safety communications and coordination during a natural or man-made disaster by disbursing $968 million toward acquisition, deployment, and training of interoperable communication systems. Grant awards will be made in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the four U.S. territories.

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are working with public safety agencies to achieve meaningful improvements in emergency communication and to fill gaps identified in the Statewide Communications Interoperability Plans. States and territories are encouraged to leverage innovative technologies and solutions that enhance their communication capabilities and efficiently, cost-effectively use our nation's airwaves. The NTIA and DHS have established the following technology priorities that states and territories must consider when selecting projects for PSIC Program funding:

• Adopt advanced technological solutions
• Improve spectrum efficiency
• Use cost-effective measures

CoCo Communications' proven technology solutions meet the NTIA's three main technology criteria and can add value in your state's effort to obtain NTIA funding of local and statewide PSIC Investment Justification projects.

CoCo™ is the Best Solution for Public Safety Interoperable Communications

Advanced Interoperable Technology

• CoCo's solution overcomes four capability limitations inherent to existing interoperable solutions: security, Quality of Service (QoS), mobility and the interdependency of the three
• CoCo's Protocol unifies disparate communication systems by riding on top of them and providing a common interface to form a single, shared infrastructure comprising Land Mobile Radio (LMR), commercial wireless, public 802.11, PSTN landline, satellite, and peer-to-peer networks
• CoCo's solution affords LMR network owners full control over their systems that, when combined with our open architecture, standards-based approach, provides compatibility with legacy systems
• CoCo's operational capabilities - range, throughput, and reliability - were validated with multiple radio systems, IP-based applications, wired/wireless networks, and multiple operating systems at the 2006 and 2007 Defense Interoperability Coordination Exercises (DICE)
• CoCo defines the next generation of advancement as a completely decentralized, IP interfacing scheme that doesn't require new network protocols for user applications

Improved Spectrum Efficiency

• CoCo's spectrum footprint is minimal because it exists solely in the network interconnection layer; using the 802.11 and 4.9 GHz spectra means CoCo fits between existing installations
• CoCo voice, video, and data channels use a standardized IP format, so communication systems can utilize the reallocated 700 MHz frequency band
• CoCo-enabled devices gain transparent access to existing spectra, eliminating the need to make large capital expenditures to rip-and-replace infrastructure
• CoCo's low transition fees facilitate smoother adoption of new technology and more rapid abandonment of legacy spectrum, which means increased spectral reallocation to modern coding schemes

Cost-Effective Solution

• CoCo's solution combines existing and future homeland security communications networks into one interoperable network that provides "always on" interconnectivity for radios, cellular phones, satellite phones, video cameras, and data devices
• CoCo's solution is based on an open community security model and complies with IP/public standards, creating an improved system architecture which results in significant cost savings compared to other approaches
• CoCo can achieve local, regional, or stateway interconnectivity at a fraction of the cost by using existing infrastructure, freeing up resources and enhancing communications
• CoCo connects existing IP/public standard technologies and applications with little or no up-front capital cost, resulting in direct cost-benefit to the customer
• Software upgrades, customizations, and improvements are far less expensive than replacing hardware and radios

From many, one.

For more information on how CoCo can complement and enhance your existing communication priorities, goals, and initiatives, please contact:

Mark Estess
Vice President
Government Affairs

Email
Phone	(208) 861-0801