City of Greenville Police to Use State-Of-The-Art Wireless Technology to Fight Crime

City of Greenville Police to Use State-Of-The-Art Wireless Technology to Fight Crime

Bell Atlantic Mobile arms officers in the field
with real-time data

May 14, 1998

GREENVILLE, SC -- Bell Atlantic Mobile and the City of Greenville
Police Department are working to equip the local police fleet 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. Laptop
computers using Bell Atlantic Mobile AirBridge® wireless service will be
installed in 30 City of Greenville police cruisers within the next month.

The system will give officers access to state and national law enforcement
databases to retrieve complete motor vehicle records, criminal warrants,
and other information in seconds.

"We believe in the value of technology in policework. It's definitely the
wave of the future," said City of Greenville Police Chief Mike Bridges.
"We intend to expand upon this current system, so that we can also
eventually call up local criminal information and write reports to download
to the system. This will benefit local residents by enabling our officers to
spend less time doing paperwork and more time in the community."

"A police officer with a laptop computer will no longer have to get our
dispatchers to run tags or driver's license numbers. His direct hookup will
enable him to retrieve this information faster and more efficiently, and will
relieve our already-overburdened dispatchers from this responsibility,"
added City Councilman Dayton Walker, chairman of the Greenville's
Public Safety Committee. "Expenditures such as this are very much worth
it to the taxpayers. We can expect more from our officers and give them
an extra level of security only dreamed about just a few short years ago."

Jim Akerhielm, Bell Atlantic Mobile vice president for the Southeast
Region, said his company is pleased to be working with the City of
Greenville Police Department and is looking forward to working with other
departments interested in the benefits of wireless data technology.

"Our wireless data service, known as Bell Atlantic Mobile AirBridge®
Packet service, uses our existing cellular network. This capability provides
police departments with a much more reliable, affordable and versatile
alternative to two-way radios," Akerhielm said. "There's no need to build
more radio towers or be concerned with network maintenance or upgrades.
Bell Atlantic Mobile takes full responsibility for maintaining and upgrading
the system."

In addition to saving time, the mobile computer systems will increase the
security of police department communications. Messages are "encrypted"
or scrambled by the wireless data network to prevent unauthorized
reception.

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Editor's note: Bell Atlantic Mobile owns and operates the largest wireless
network in the East, covering 112,000 square miles, and the largest chain
of retail outlets devoted exclusively to wireless voice, data and paging.
Based in Bedminster, NJ, Bell Atlantic Mobile has 5.5 million customers
and 7,000 employees from Main to Georgia and, and through a separate
subsidiary, in the Southwest. Through its "Wireless at Work" community
relations program, the company uses its technology to help individuals and
communities improve security and emergency communications. Bell
Atlantic Mobile is one of the world's largess wireless communications
companies, with domestic operations in 25 states and international
investments spanning Latin America, Europe and the Pacific Rim. For
more information on Bell Atlantic Mobile, visit www.bam.com; on global
operations, visit www.bellatlantic.com/worldwide.