New Jersey & New Mexico Award BTOP Contracts

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New Jersey and New Mexico have awarded two BTOP contracts to Sonim for public safety broadband work. The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Sonim was chosen to provide FirstNet Band 14 enabled devices, accessories and applications to public safety organizations in both states.

Sonim provides ultra-rugged mobile phones that are designed to work on the FirstNet Band 14 frequency. FirstNet is the name given to a dedicated voice and data transfer network for first responders. Band 14 is the name of the dedicated frequency.

“We are committed to making FirstNet Band 14 a reality,” said Robert Escalle, Vice President – Public Safety Market Segment, Sonim Technologies. “We view these contracts as a vital piece to improving communication systems for our public safety providers.”

Ultra-rugged phones are designed to withstand extreme conditions like being submerged in water, or going for days without being plugged in. They also have push-to-talk capability.

As CivSource noted yesterday, vendors are lining up to get a chunk of the FirstNet work as well as the significant public safety contracting opportunity set. Motorola Solutions has been one of the lead vendors on FirstNet, but Nokia is also making a big push through its partnership with Harris.

Others like SAIC are providing planning services while General Dynamics, and Airbus DS are attempting to make their defense expertise cross-functional into public safety.