Posted on 04/30/2012 6:49:02 AM PDT by Steve Peacock
Significant steps have been taken since 9/11 to increase the interoperability of communications systems among emergency service providers; the U.S. government, however, is stepping up efforts to coordinate such efforts in one particular city: the Turkish city of Istanbul.
The incompatibility of systems used by dozens of emergency and municipal service providers across Istanbul is negatively affecting that city's disaster preparedness. Conequently, the U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA) is assisting the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, known as the IBB, in its consolidation of 41 operations centers.
According to a USTDA solicitation notice that U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor located via routine database research:
At present, each municipal service (police, fire, transportation, electricity, gas, water/wastewater) runs its own Operations Center, and these employ a variety of often incompatible and non-interoperable hardware and software platforms. The lack of interoperability among these Operations Centers severely impairs the municipal authority's ability to effectively respond to emergency and disaster situations.
Accordingly, IBB is planning to design, construct and operate a Consolidated Technology Center that would incorporate common platforms, systems and data sources for its Operations Centers to use, allowing for more coordinated approaches to service delivery.
USTDA initially will provide a $700,000 grant to IBB to hire a contractor to provide "technical assistance." The contractor must be a U.S. company, which can then subcontract up to 20% of the project to Turkish vendors.
A more detailed Request for Proposals is available from USTDA upon request. Proposals are due June 1.
Source document: Solicitation #2012-21009A.
A grant to hire a US consultant ...gee, I wonder if they also gave a list of “approved” contractors? If this tracks with everything else Obama has done, there was or shortly will be a 5 figure donation to the RATs by the selectee.
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