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Dallas Launches City-Wide Interoperability Network

City Subscribes to CoCo Communications’ Service to Provide Cost Effective Interoperable Communications Solution

McLEAN, VA (November 15, 2006) – The City of Dallas is one step closer today to being the first city in the nation to have full interoperable communications between the city’s departments and agencies without replacing its existing networks. The Dallas City Council gave final approval for Dallas departments of police, fire and aviation to be the first subscribers to CoCo Communications’ National Interoperable Communications Service. By signing this multi-year contract, the agencies will have access to this encrypted network allowing them to communicate voice, video and data seamlessly with one another using their existing radios and networks. The subscription service allows agencies to forego many of the technological and budget constraints that have hampered progress toward enabling coordination of our first responders and critical infrastructure providers.

“This is a must-have service….we must have interoperability among radio communications systems for all police, law enforcement, fire and government agencies,” said Dallas First Assistant Chief of Police David Brown. “This is a potentially life saving technology.”

The Service being used in Dallas leverages CoCo Communications’ software Protocol, which ‘rides’ on top of existing network infrastructures. The CoCo TM Protocol dramatically extends the return on investment in legacy devices and networks, while eliminating communication breakdowns created by systems that simply do not ‘talk’ with each other because of differing frequencies or operating systems. This makes two-way radios compatible with other radios and commonly deployed devices including cellular phones, laptops and PDAs by creating a common interface that can be shared by all available resources. The result is a comprehensive, secure interoperable network that is easy and affordable to implement and expand as needed.

“It is important that I have ability to communicate not only with my firefighters but also with other agencies – we are the first line of defense when it comes to manmade and natural disasters,” said Dallas Fire Chief Eddie Burns Sr. “Having the capability to communicate with other cities, departments and agencies will enhance the capabilities of all first responders.”

Police officers, firefighters and aviation department personnel can also securely access the Service from end-user device interfaces, such as laptops or PDAs, with the ability to view video feeds and a customized information “ticker”. The Service integrates with wireless carriers, extending access to the Service and enabling mobile devices to communicate voice, video or data across the network. The result is that users are able to converse with their colleagues as well as other Federal, state and local agencies on the network to share critical information during emergency situations or for normal day-to-day activities.

The Service provides real-time access to live video from existing cameras installed in airports, government buildings or in police cruisers or fire trucks. Users of the Service can access any of the video to improve situational awareness and better coordinate response efforts – all for a fraction of the cost of traditional hardware-based solutions.

“With today’s increased focus on airport security and emergency preparedness, it is invaluable to have the kind of coordinated communications system that we now benefit from at Dallas Love Field,” said Terry Mitchell, Assistant Director of Aviation for the City of Dallas. “We are fortunate to be one of the first users of the service and proud that, in the field of emergency communications, Dallas is once again assuming a leadership role.”

Additional agencies in the Dallas region, Texas or nationally can be easily added to the Service without the need for long lead times or investments in new hardware. Agencies simply subscribe to the Service.

“The City of Dallas has proven itself a leader in implementing innovative approaches to major national issues such as interoperable emergency response communications. The close working relationship that has been established with the city and its agencies has resulted in one of the most robust communications systems to protect the citizens of Dallas,” said Mark Tucker, chief executive officer of CoCo Communications. “The citizens of Dallas are fortunate to have leaders and city officials with such foresight in implementing effective and affordable interoperability solutions.”

About CoCo Communications Corp.
CoCo Communications Corp. provides secure resilient convergence solutions to the military, government agencies and first responders. CoCo Communications Corp. was founded in 2002 after analyzing many well-documented communications failures and shortcomings. The company developed the CoCo Protocol, a technology that solves many of the most critical challenges affecting communications systems today – resilience, mobility, security and convergence. As a result, our nation’s first responders—as well as public and private operators of critical infrastructures—can now have secure, interoperable, and scalable communications without altering the way they traditionally communicate with each other. CoCo™ convergence fabric joins existing communication networks together enabling previously separate systems to operate as a single service. The company has numerous patents pending on its standards-based security platform. Visit www.cococorp.com for more information.