Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Announce At APCO Plans To Equip Fleet With Wireless Data Technology

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Announces At APCO Plans to Equip Fleet With Wireless Data Technology

Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile Arms Officers in the Field with More Information to Fight Crime

August 13, 1997

BEDMINSTER, NJ - Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile and the

Charlotte- Mecklenburg, NC, Police Department will announce today at

the APCO Convention plans to equip the local police fleet with new

wireless data technology called Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD).

Laptop computers using Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile AirBridge® CDPD

service will be installed in more than 460 Charlotte-Mecklenburg

police vehicles, including patrol cars, the mobile command post, SWAT

vans, crime scene vans, patrol boats and canine unit vehicles. The

service will provide officers in the field with nearly instantaneous

wireless access to information before they approach a vehicle, house,

or suspect, allowing them to make critical decisions that will enhance

their own safety as well as that of the community.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg will be the second largest public safety

application of CDPD technology in the nation. The system will give

officers access to local, state and national law enforcement databases

to retrieve complete motor vehicle records, criminal warrants, police

reports, GIS, and other information in seconds.

"We believe in the value of technology in police work. When officers

graduate from the police academy, they should be given a badge, a gun,

a radio and a laptop," said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Dennis

Nowicki. "This new technology will directly benefit local residents

as well by enabling our officers to spend less time doing paperwork

and more time in the community."

Jim Akerhielm, Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile vice president for the

Southeast Region, said his company is pleased to be working with the

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police and is looking forward to working with

other departments interested in the benefits of wireless data

technology.

"Our wireless data service, known as AirBridge Packet service, uses

our existing cellular network. This capability provides police

departments with a much more reliable, affordable and versatile

alternative to traditional two-way radios," Akerhielm said. "There's

no need to build more radio towers or be concerned with network

maintenance or upgrades. Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile takes full

responsibility for maintaining and upgrading the system."

The software that allows officers to connect to national, state, and

federal databases, police information systems, the National Crime

Information Computer (NCIC), and the NC Division of Motor Vehicles is

being provided by Cerulean Technology, Inc., of Marlborough, MA.

In addition to saving time, the mobile computer systems will increase

the security of police department communications. Messages are

"encrypted" or scrambled by both the software and the CDPD network to

prevent unauthorized reception.

About Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile

Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile is the largest wireless service provider on

the East Coast and the second largest in the United States. The

company owns and operates the most extensive network in the east,

covering 111,000 square miles, and the largest chain of wireless

retail outlets offering a full range of wireless personal

communications services, including voice, data and paging. Based in

Bedminster, NJ, Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile has 4.9 million customers

and 6,500 employees in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and

through a separate subsidiary, in the Southwest. The company was

formed in July, 1995 by combining the cellular operations of Bell

Atlantic Mobile and NYNEX Mobile. For more information, visit our

home page at www.banm.com.

About Cerulean

Founded in 1992, privately held Cerulean Technology, Inc. is a

rapidly-growing developer of innovative, client/server software

applications for public and private wireless networks. The company's

PacketCluster Patrol software is the market leader in wireless mobile

information software for law enforcement and public safety, and has been

chosen by law enforcement agencies in 35 states. PacketCluster Patrol

won the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association's 1996 APPY

award for best end-user software. For more information, visit

Cerulean's Web site at www.cerulean.com.