Va. region taps M/A-Com for communications system

M/A-Com Inc. has won an $18.5 million contract from the Rockingham-Harrisonburg Emergency Communications Center to provide an interoperable, public safety communications system, the company announced Monday.

M/A-Com of Lowell, Mass., will deploy an interoperable communications system for the city's and county's public safety and public service agencies. The company also will implement a complementary paging system, UHF and an800 megahertz mutual aid network as part of the new communications network.

The backbone of the communication system will include an 800-megahertz digital communications network with Project 25 Common Air Interface, which will provide users with comprehensive digital coverage.

The new system replaces conventional low-band and UHF systems that do not provide adequate coverage to users or grant interoperable communications capabilities among various agencies in the city and county.

The Rockingham-Harrisonburg Emergency Communications Center was created jointly by the city of Harrisonburg, the commonwealth of Virginia and Rockingham County, Va.

M/A-Com provides communications systems and equipment for public safety, utility, federal and commercial sectors. It is a unit of Tyco International Ltd. of Princeton, N.J. The company has about 260,000 employees and annual sales of $40 billion.