Alcatel wins $8 million public safety upgrade in Vermont

Alcatel Inc. won a $8 million contract with the Vermont Department of Public Safety to improve the state's public safety communications infrastructure, said state and company officials.

The project includes a network upgrade worth about $7 million and the implementation of a local access option worth about $1 million, said James Walton, commissioner of Vermont's Department of Public Safety.

Under the contract, Plano, Texas-based Alcatel will provide the Vermont Department of Public Safety with a digital network that includes an integrated voice, data and video network for communications among several state offices, agencies, armories and colleges.

The digital network will improve reliability, increase available bandwidth, reduce operational costs and improve emergency response, the company said.

The statewide network will serve the state police, the national guard armory, state colleges, the state transportation agency and the state fish and wildlife law enforcement division.