Motorola wins Maryland airport communications deal

Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport will boost its safety and communications operations next year when a new wireless communications system is installed.

Motorola Inc. of Schaumburg, Ill., has won a three-year, $6.9 million contract with the Maryland Aviation Administration to install its digital Astro 25 simulcast wireless voice communications system.

The system will enable all agency personnel to reach each other directly through a trunked, or multifrequency, radio system.

The system will support a wide range of agency personnel, including rescue workers, fire fighters, transportation police, airport security personnel, and maintenance and operations staff.

The contract covers more than 700 radios, infrastructure and system maintenance for the life of the contract.

The new system will facilitate communications among agency personnel and public safety officials in Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties, as well as with Baltimore city officials. The jurisdictions and the airport provide mutual aid to each other.

The communications system is based on the Project 25 interoperability standard for digital two-way wireless communications products, a standard adopted by wireless product manufacturers.

Motorola, a provider of mobile communications products and solutions, has about 68,000 employees and annual sales of $31.3 billion. The company ranks No. 20 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list of federal prime contractors.