Raytheon broadband award scores nation's firsts

Raytheon Co. has just notched two firsts in one.

The company has won the nation’s initial competitive Public Safety Long Term Evolution contract, the first under the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program for recipients of the Federal Communications Commission’s 700 MHz Broadband Waiver, according to a Raytheon announcement dated July 6.

The $8.7 million award will provide Adams County, Colo., and the adjacent Denver community with a 15-site LTE communications system that delivers the public safety user access to next-generation broadband capabilities such as streaming video, remote data access and information sharing.

The system will become part of the nationwide public safety LTE network that will provide broadband data services to all levels of first responders throughout the county.

Raytheon will be responsible for system design, equipment and system configuration, project management, installation, testing and training, the announcement states.

The 4G LTE system, which will be deployed over the next 21 months, is funded through an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 stimulus grant under the Commerce Department’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, which is managed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Raytheon's solution will allow the county’s 1,500 diversified users to efficiently communicate during both normal operations and emergency situations, Brian Shepherd, deputy director of Adams County Communications Inc., said in the announcement.

Raytheon Co., of Waltham, Mass., ranks No. 4 on Washington Technology’s 2011 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.