IBM to build $20 million public safety network for D.C. region

IBM Corp., in partnership with federal, state and local public safety and transportation agencies, has been selected to build a public safety and data communications network for the Washington metropolitan region, IBM Corp. announced Aug. 22.

IBM of Armonk, N.Y., will receive $20 million for its work on the Capital Wireless Integrated Network, also known as CapWIN, the company said.

CapWIN is designed to provide firefighters, police, transportation officials and other authorized emergency personnel in the Washington area with wireless access to multiple government data sources during critical incidents.

Improved access to information will help the so-called first responders and public safety officials to make vital safety-related decisions, according to IBM.

The nucleus of CapWIN is IBM's first-responder interoperability solution. The solution offers security features that meet or exceed FBI standards for mobile data communications, IBM said.

CapWIN will enable officials to communicate with each other via an instant messaging application deployed on low-cost, industry-standard devices, such as personal computers, personal digital assistants and data-enabled mobile phones.

The network also will allow participating agencies to access data across the jurisdictions in the Washington metropolitan area, IBM said.

IBM's partners on the project are is Templar Corp., P.B. Farradyne Inc., TeleCommunication Systems Corp. and Pelican Mobile Computers Inc.