Jones County MS pr 8.3.12

							 Contact: Vicki Helfrich       412 E Woodrow Wilson Ave
 Executive Officer, WCC        Jackson MS 39216
 Phone 601-359-5333
 Fax 601-359-5362




Press Release
 Mississippi Wireless Information Statewide
 Communications Network grows as Jones County
 Joins Radio Network
 Mississippi Wireless Communication Commission recognizes
 Jones County as a Partner with statewide Mississippi Wireless
 Information Network (MSWIN)
     Jackson, Miss., Aug. 2, 2012: The Mississippi Wireless Communication Commission (WCC)

 today voted unanimously to approve the addition of Jones County, Miss. on the MSWIN system. Jones

 County voted to join the statewide radio system as their primary communications partner. This will

 provide Jones County with state-of-the-art, interoperable mission-critical communications for first

 responders throughout the county, as well as with agencies throughout Mississippi.

     The new Jones County radio system will be able to take advantage of the existing radio system

 infrastructure of MSWIN and will add one additional tower in the north area of the county. The new

 Project 25 (P25) radio system will provide the county with enhanced interoperability among all agencies

 in the county as well as with surrounding counties using MSWIN. It will also allow Jones County first

 responders to communicate with state agencies during large scale responses, including disaster

 recovery.
     The Mississippi state legislature created the WCC in 2005, just before Hurricane Katrina. The

 hurricane accentuated for state and national leaders the need for survivable, secure, interoperable

 communications. It also led to the development of MSWIN, a Motorola Solutions P25 700 MHz Land
 Mobile Radio (LMR) statewide network launched in June 2007. MSWIN, which is now nearly

 completed, was fully funded through state and federal appropriations.

     The three-phase MSWIN project includes the southern and central parts of Mississippi covered by
 96 tower sites (Phases 1 and 2), which has been accepted and is now being used daily. Phase 3 is




 For Release 6 a.m. CST, August 3, 2012
currently in development with completion expected later this year. Today, there are more than 9,000

state and local users on the system and interoperability continues to expand throughout Mississippi.
    “Jones County is realizing a considerable cost savings by utilizing the MSWIN network instead of

having to build their own separate network infrastructure,” said Vicki Helfrich, WCC Executive Officer.

“The backbone of the MSWIN system gives Jones County the necessary coverage for all of their users
and also expands the footprint of the MSWIN system by integrating one of their current tower sites.”

    “Utilizing the existing MSWIN LMR contract extends cost savings to local agencies that want to

upgrade their obsolete systems while leveraging the large contract value”, Helfrich said. To contact the
WCC for questions on joining the MSWIN system, please call Vicki Helfrich at 601-359-5333.