Salinas, Calif./Boston, Ma. — Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS), an international communications and information technology company, was awarded a $15 million contract to design and deploy a new public safety radio system that will improve coverage, reliability and communication interoperability between local, county, state and federal first responders within the County of Monterey, California.

The Harris P25IP (Project 25 to the power of IP) VHF system will provide reliable coverage for first responders and public service agencies throughout Monterey County, California — which spans an area of more than 3,300 square miles and is home to 425,000 residents.  For enhanced interoperable communications, the solution includes the Harris Unity XG-100 portable and mobile full-spectrum multiband radio with its suite of advanced features, including Bluetooth® capability, Harris noise-suppression technology, and encryption. 

“As our county population grew to nearly half a million residents, it became clear that the communications requirements of our public safety first responders have outstripped the capabilities of our existing legacy radio system,” said Lynn Diebold, director of Emergency Communications for the County of Monterey, California.  “To meet our increasing needs, as well as the new national communications standards, the project team executed a rigorous and open bidding process to identify the right solution.  The most attractive system proposed that was flexible, reliable and which allowed the County to leverage existing resources while at the same time realizing a significant cost savings, was the Harris P25IP solution.”

The Harris P25IP system is part of the VIDA (Voice, Interoperability, Data and Access) network, which provides network-level interoperable communications with other public safety agencies.  The system will consist of a P25IP trunked VHF network with a conventional analog system overlay.  In addition, Harris also will deploy a P25IP trunked 700 MHz sub-system to meet the County’s specified requirements within both the City of Salinas and the Monterey Peninsula Area.

“Monterey is a large and vibrant county with complex communications needs,” said Steve Marschilok, president, Harris Public Safety and Professional Communications.  “The Harris VIDA solution brings Monterey much needed communications interoperability through the integration of both trunked and conventional analog capabilities on a single powerful network.” 

The Harris VIDA (Voice, Interoperability, Data and Access) network platform is a unified IP-based voice and data communication system based on APCO P25 industry standards.  VIDA delivers full IP management features, including interoperability without intervention of console operators; IP consoles; and other benefits inherent in open IP architecture systems.  The new P25 system complies with both the current P25 Phase 1 standard and the emerging P25 Phase 2 industry standard.

Harris Public Safety and Professional Communications is a leading supplier of assured communications systems and equipment for public safety, federal, utility, commercial and transportation markets — with products ranging from the most advanced IP voice and data networks, to industry leading multiband, multimode radios, to public safety-grade broadband video and data solutions.  With more than 80 years of experience, Harris Public Safety and Professional Communications supports over 500 systems around the world.

About Harris Corporation
Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries.  Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has approximately $5 billion of annual revenue and more than 16,000 employees — including nearly 7,000 engineers and scientists.  Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured communications products, systems, and services.  Additional information about Harris Corporation is available at www.harris.com.