Public Safety Interoperable Communications Grant Program
Connecticut (CT)
PSIC Federal Award: $12,999,879
(Awarded September 30, 2007)
Summary
PSIC Investment Justification Enhancement and Integration of First Responder Practitioner Mobile Field Communications Through Equipment, Training, and Coordination (STR) Interconnectivity of Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) and Communications Systems Enhancement and Migration of Regional Communications Systems to 700 MHz Management and Administration (M&A) Statewide Planning Total PSIC Award Federal Funds $3,000,000 $6,732,960 $2,876,923 $389,996 $12,999,879
Pass Through: The State of Connecticut entered into Memoranda of Understanding with local jurisdictions. The agreements authorize the State to expend PSIC grant funding on behalf of these jurisdictions. Strategic Technology Reserve (STR): Connecticut allocated $1,006,822 to its STR Investment.
As of December 31, 2008
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Investments
State-level Match Amount: $2,944,587
Enhancement and Integration of First Responder Practitioner Mobile Field Communications through Equipment, Training, and Coordination (STR) Federal Amount: Non-Federal Match Amount: Total Project Cost:
90%* Acquisition & Deployment
$ 3,000,000 $ 0 $ 3,000,000
5% Training & Exercise 5% Planning & Coordination
*Percentages include both Federal and non-Federal Match funds.
The State of Connecticut has 107 public safety answering points (PSAP) and multiple dispatch centers serving the public safety emergency communications needs for State agencies and the 169 municipalities and towns. Most of the centers do not have adequate backup systems. This Investment provides for six mobile interoperable communications vehicles, which will provide support to primary communications systems by restoring communications in the event of a catastrophic event. The vehicles will have all-weather, all-terrain maneuverability and will operate in trunked, conventional, or analog mode in any frequency band allowing integration within an hour of request. This Investment satisfies the program requirement to develop and implement an STR that is pre-positioned, deployable, and able to re-establish communications when critical communications equipment is damaged or destroyed.
Interconnectivity of Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) and Communications Systems Federal Amount: Non-Federal Match Amount: Total Project Cost:
99%* Acquisition & Deployment
$6,732,960 $ 0 $6,732,960
<1% Training & Exercise <1% Planning & Coordination
*Percentages include both Federal and non-Federal Match funds.
Connecticut’s public safety answering points (PSAP) operate on individual, stand-alone systems that are not interconnected and do not have adequate bandwidth for data transmission. This Investment implements a fiber optic network that will allow for the interconnectivity of PSAPs using an existing statewide 700/800 Megahertz (MHz) system. This Investment will improve interoperability among emergency providers across the State, increase voice and data capabilities to PSAPs, and provide the communications infrastructure needed for public safety agencies at all levels of government and across jurisdictions to communicate during emergency events and natural or man-made disasters.
As of December 31, 2008 2
Enhancement and Migration of Regional Communications Systems to 700 MHz Federal Amount: Non-Federal Match Amount: Total Project Cost:
85%* Acquisition & Deployment
$2,876,923 $ 0 $2,876,923
5% Training & Exercise 10% Planning & Coordination
*Percentages include both Federal and non-Federal Match funds.
Public safety agencies in Connecticut operate on a variety of frequency bands (e.g., VHF low band, VHF high band, UHF, and 800 MHz) and most of the existing communicate systems are only designed to serve a single jurisdiction or a single discipline. As a result, public safety agencies in the same jurisdiction cannot easily communicate or interoperate during major emergencies or disasters and multiple jurisdictional interoperable communications is difficult. This Investment provides for the design, funding, and procurement of regional 700 MHz systems and procedures to ensure greater interoperability between public safety agencies. The new 700 MHz system will offer Radio over Internet Protocol (RoIP) technology, using existing State and regional transmission sites, to improve interoperability among public safety agencies serving Connecticut’s state agencies, tribal nations, and local municipalities. The Investment will also help to develop a regional governance structure and protocols to ensure interoperability and provide training to ensure proper and frequent use.
PSIC Administration and Statewide Planning Costs
Management and Administration (M&A) Federal Amount: Non-Federal Match Amount: Total Project Cost: $ 389,996 $ 97,499 $ 487,495
The State was allowed to retain up to three percent of the total PSIC award for costs associated with the administration of the State’s PSIC Investments. The M&A costs could include hiring full-time or part-time staff or contractors for grant management services related to reporting, monitoring and audit compliance, and associated travel and meeting expenses.
Statewide Planning Federal Amount $ 0
The State was allowed to retain up to five percent of the total PSIC award for Statewide Planning costs associated with the incorporation of the PSIC criteria into the Statewide Communication Interoperability Plan (SCIP). The Statewide Planning period of performance was April 1, 2007–December 3, 2007, with the submission of the SCIP. Connecticut, however, chose not to allocate its PSIC funds in this manner.
As of December 31, 2008
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