BAE Systems’ First InterComm system, also known as the First Responder Interoperable Communications® system has received SAFETY Act certification from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a qualified anti-terrorism technology.
“This certification is another significant step in our ability to offer cost-effective communications interoperability for our nation’s first responders,” said Mike Greene, BAE Systems’ director of Homeland Security Solutions in Nashua, NH. “This technology will help save lives during emergencies.”
The First InterComm system enables first responders at the scenes of emergency situations to use their existing radio equipment to communicate with other responders, though they are using different frequencies and protocols. The low-cost, vehicle-mounted units link all of the radios at an incident scene without costly towers or other infrastructure.
The system also allows the creation of "talk groups" to eliminate distractions resulting from too many people talking on the radio at the same time. The First InterComm system allows an incident commander to maintain communications with all first responders while assigning agencies to particular talk groups.
The system has been demonstrated in a series of trials and exercises, including operation by first responders during actual emergencies. Police and fire departments from Amherst, Bedford, and Merrimack, NH recently conducted a mock test of the First InterComm system in which officials were automatically patched in with other radios of different frequencies and operating modes, enabling them to communicate instantly.
The SAFETY Act certification is provided under a 2002 federal law known as the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (SAFETY) Act.
First InterComm at Responder Knowledge Base
For further information please contact:
BAE Systems
First InterComm system
+1 888 45 INTEROP (+1 888 454 6837)
firstintercomm.eis@baesystems.com
