C Spire Wireless to host open house Monday for the Intrado THOR ShieldSM program, a comprehensive, rapidly deployed mobile emergency communications and command center
Ridgeland, Miss. (April 6, 2012) –
C Spire Wireless and Intrado are giving Mississippi emergency response and public safety officials an opportunity to experience the next generation in mobile emergency communications up close and personal by hosting an open house Monday for THOR. Tactical Homeland Operations Response (THOR) is a mobile 9-1-1 communications and command center that is two stories tall, weighs 40 tons and measures 80 feet in length when fully expanded.C Spire is partnering with the Denver-based company to host Mississippi emergency response and public safety officials for tours between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. in the rear parking lot on the southeast corner of the wireless communication provider’s corporate headquarters building in Ridgeland, Miss.
With the severe weather season already underway in the Magnolia state and the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season just around the corner, the potential rises dramatically for a catastrophic weather-caused event affecting emergency 9-1-1 communications facilities, according to Eric Hollingsworth, vice president of Network Operations for C Spire Wireless. Last April, 37 people were killed in Mississippi during an outbreak of more than 100 tornadoes that caused major damage in 40 counties. The state averages 29 tornadoes and seven deaths every year from tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service.
“The violent nature of our weather can put a significant strain on emergency communications and can often clog essential 9-1-1 operations or even knock them off the air,” Hollingsworth said. “With this first-of-its-kind mobile emergency communications program, public safety answering points can maintain operations when their call centers are down or overwhelmed by traffic.”
THOR ShieldSM features state-of-the-art 9-1-1 communications technology that allows it to interoperate with all forms of existing wireless and wireline systems and networks. The current structure allows up to 17 call answering and dispatch positions in the truck with room for additional positions outside the vehicle under a canopy.
“So that any single agency does not have to carry the full burden of owning THOR, we offer this service in a way that the cost can be shared with multiple owners, ensuring that infrastructure works, configuration is customized and availability is immediate.” said Brian Davenport, Intrado vice president and program director for the THOR ShieldSM program.
THOR ShieldSM is a comprehensive set of services, not just a large communications vehicle. In addition to providing a mobile 9-1-1 center, the program features a variety of other support services, including trained 9-1-1 professional dispatchers and customized configuration to the local public safety answering point’s specifications upon arrival.
About C Spire Wireless
C Spire Wireless is a diversified wireless communications company passionately committed to helping customers by personalizing wireless services designed just for them. The company is the first wireless provider in the U.S. to personalize customers’ experience by offering apps that fit who they are, services that anticipate their needs, and rewards for using their phone in new ways – all with seamless ease and at amazingly fast speeds. This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire Wireless and its products and services, visit www.cspire.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at www.twitter.com/cspire.
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