FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                          February 1, 2007

Release No. M-12-07

CITY EXPANDS ENHANCED 911 SYSTEM;

HPD DISPATCHERS TO GET NEW MONITORS

            Mayor Mufi Hannemann today announced that T-Mobile is the second cellular telephone service to join Honolulu’s Enhanced 911 system. In addition, Hannemann said Hawaiian Telcom has agreed to replace 30 video monitors now being used by the Honolulu Police Department’s radio dispatchers with new equipment.

            The mayor made the announcements after he presented Police Chief Boisse Correa with  a proclamation marking the 75^th anniversary of the Honolulu Police Department.

            “There is no more important mission for city government than ensuring the safety of the public,” said Hannemann. “The men and women of the Honolulu Police Department are on the front line of that effort. These new developments will help us do an even better job protecting the public.”

            T-Mobile yesterday joined MOBI PCS in providing all of its subscribers E911 service, which allows police, fire, ambulance and other dispatchers to instantly pinpoint a caller’s location.

             “We plan to have all of the other wireless providers fully operational on E911 by the end of March,” Hannemann said as he visited HPD’s communication operations area, which recently underwent a $1.5 million renovation.

            Gordon Bruce, director of the City Department of Information Technology, said, “The $1 million to establish E911 on Oahu came from the state’s E911 fund, and we expect another $4 million to $5 million over the next year to expand and enhance the system.”

            In addition to the E911 strides, police dispatchers will get new 19-inch flat-screen video monitors to replace the aging 15-inchers they now use.

            The mayor thanked Hawaiian Telcom and its CEO, Michael Ruley, for agreeing to replace the monitors, which the firm owns as part of its contract to provide equipment for HPD dispatch.

            “Gordon Bruce suggested the replacement to Mike Ruley, who stepped up to the plate, just as he did when he agreed to have Hawaiian Telcom sponsor Sunset on the Beach last year,” said Hannemann. “It’s this kind of public-private teamwork that benefits everyone on Oahu and will help Honolulu’s finest – the Honolulu Police Department – do an even better job keeping the public safe.”

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Contact:

            Gordon Bruce, Director of Information Technology, 768-7621

            Mark Matsunaga, 527-5767