• County government modernizes its network with microwave packet radio and IP/MPLS technology
• New network will bring more robust emergency response capabilities to public safety organizations serving the County's nearly 1 million residents
• Project highlights Nokia's momentum in the public safety sector as local and regional governments look to revamp aging communications infrastructure

Espoo, Finland - Nokia is modernizing the communications network of the County of Fresno, California to strengthen emergency response capabilities and enhance public safety. Nokia will upgrade the network using microwave packet radio and Internet Protocol/Multi-protocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS) technology, which will provide secure, resilient and reliable data links for first responders and County facilities.

The network provides the backhaul capabilities for Fresno County's digital trunked radio system, which is used by police, firefighters and other public safety personnel to communicate with command centers and amongst themselves. Once in place, the network can also be used to support services for a variety of other County agencies.

For this project, Nokia is supplying the County of Fresno with its 9500 Microwave Packet Radio and 7705 Service Aggregation Router to provide IP, Ethernet, TDM and video services, and to support the transition to an all-IP network. The IP/MPLS-enabled microwave network is managed by the Nokia Network Services Platform, which simplifies management for improved operational efficiency, and is future-ready for software defined networking.

Nokia is also providing professional services such as network design and migration, installation and integration.

This agreement highlights Nokia's growing momentum around the delivery of mission-critical networks for markets beyond traditional communications service providers. Public safety in particular represents an attractive opportunity as local governments throughout the United States, as well as in other parts of the world, need to modernize outdated communications infrastructure essential for emergency response.

Jim Wickham, Telecom Systems Manager, County of Fresno, said : "The decision to go with Nokia was an easy one. In Nokia we have found a financially strong and diverse technology provider that ties the end-to-end backhaul solution together under one network management platform. Nokia's Microwave Packet Radio and IP/MPLS technologies address a number of challenges we are facing today, while providing a foundation on which we can introduce new services in the future, including mobile broadband services via FirstNet.

Bob Fennelly, head of Nokia's North American Public Sector Business, said: "Regional and municipal governments like the County of Fresno rely on communications networks for their most critical services, specifically public safety. As service providers de-commission leased TDM services and public sector players move to replace their increasingly obsolete networks, they are looking for technology that will serve their needs well into the future, and has the capacity and flexibility to meet evolving requirements while supporting current legacy infrastructure needs. Many are turning to Nokia because, with our ViTrust portfolio, we have the most robust, future-proof, end-to-end public safety networking solution in the industry."