Madesco Technologies Accepted into the Coveted US Department of Defense “FirstLink” Program
Victoria, Canada, June 26, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Madesco Technologies announced today it has been accepted into the coveted US Department of Defense “FirstLink” program. “This is another milestone for our company” says Larry Cole, CEO of Madesco, “FirstLink provides that pivotal role of assisting Madesco in getting our advanced team communications solutions in front of first responder and military clients in the United States”. Madesco is a pioneer in unified interoperable team communications solutions (TeamComms™) that is creating a considerable groundswell of interest in public safety and military circles.
Allen Jones, the operations manager of the U.S. Department of Defense’s FirstLink program, says “We welcome Madesco into the program and look forward to working more closely with them”. In a recent Globe & Mail article Mr Jones went on to say “Communication has been identified to us as the number one problem at a major happening. Radio and telephone systems don’t all talk to each other. We see TeamComms as a major tool in solving that problem.”
The tragedies of 9/11, Katrina and the London bombings all share a common thread of poor radio communications, putting first responders and public safety officials at great personal risk, or in the case of 9/11, causing deaths. This is a serious issue and it has the attention of all levels of government north and south of the border.
As recently noted by US Congressman Bart Stupak “The attacks on 9/11 were horrendous attacks on our country and showed us some of our vulnerabilities. Now, in addition to that tragedy, we find that some of those deaths may have been prevented had there been a more adequate communications system in place,” Stupak said. “This information is an extremely unfortunate example of a vulnerability that exists in communities across the country. With more than 80 percent of America’s local first responders not able to interoperate, or communicate with their counterparts, the inability of first responders to communicate with each other is more than a major concern; it’s a threat to our national security.” He went on to observe that, “America cannot wait for another terrorist attack and suffer the loss of lives because first responders cannot communicate with each other. As founder of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus, we have demonstrated how the interoperability problem can be solved using today’s technology. I challenge the administration to apply this technology today to keep Americans safe.”
According to Cole “Admitting there is a problem with communications is only the first step in a complicated process of developing affordable solutions that make sense to end users and the tax payers who pay for the equipment. Governments have already spent billions of dollars on communications equipment, so we felt the solutions we were developing had to take into account all of the legacy radios already owned by these agencies. We took the time to sit and listen to the needs of the people who use this type equipment, the feet on the street folks. What does their world look like? What is important to these men and women? The public constantly asks them to put their personal safety on the line each time they go out to do their jobs, but is the equipment they currently use effective? It was remarkable how similar the issues were whether it was police, fire, search and rescue, border patrol, corrections, the list is long. So we gathered this information and began the process of developing TeamComms™, a wireless, hands-free, fully duplex mobile communications system to enable users to hear and be heard at the individual, team and command levels simultaneously.”
FirstLink’s support is consistent with the feedback we received from Bruce Aitken, President of Washington, DC based Homeland Security Industries Association who said “...we believe that Madesco’s TeamComms technology is in the right place at the right time.” Larry Cole concludes “With all the additional attention we have been receiving, Madesco is accelerating our funding efforts to commercialize TeamComms™, this is truly an exhilarating time at Madesco.”
About Madesco Technologies
Madesco is private company that was founded to take advantage of a unique gap in the communications market for Public Safety First Responders and Military. There exists a highly profitable opportunity for a unifying device that ties together various forms of legacy and specialized communications gear and also becomes the platform for enhanced communications. In the entire spectrum of person to person radio communications gear, multiple layers of communication technologies and diverse vendors has resulted in isolation and incompatibility at the individual level, hampering effective immediate team level communication. This presents a threat to personal safety during an emergency or terrorist attack. To help counter these potentially devastating issues for public safety officials, Madesco is developing TeamComms™. For more information please visit our website at http://www.madesco.ca/
About US Department of Defense FirstLink
FirstLink was established as the nations first Department of Defense (DOD) Technology Transfer and Commercialization National Center of Excellence for First Responder Technologies through a Partnership Intermediary Agreement with the United States Department of Defense Office of Technology Transition and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Their mission is to increase the rate at which first responder technologies are commercialized and transferred to the market place, where they can be made available to our nation’s first responders through U.S. manufacturers and small businesses. FirstLink supports the transition of technology from DOD laboratories to market by conducting initial technical reviews, market analysis, and identification of potential industry or private sector partners. There are nearly three million federal, state, and local first responders – fire fighters, law enforcement personnel, and emergency medical teams. Their role includes not only providing basic safety to United States citizens, but also securing our nation’s home front. Their need for the best technologies and equipment is more critical than ever.
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Allen Jones, the operations manager of the U.S. Department of Defense’s FirstLink program, says “We welcome Madesco into the program and look forward to working more closely with them”. In a recent Globe & Mail article Mr Jones went on to say “Communication has been identified to us as the number one problem at a major happening. Radio and telephone systems don’t all talk to each other. We see TeamComms as a major tool in solving that problem.”
The tragedies of 9/11, Katrina and the London bombings all share a common thread of poor radio communications, putting first responders and public safety officials at great personal risk, or in the case of 9/11, causing deaths. This is a serious issue and it has the attention of all levels of government north and south of the border.
As recently noted by US Congressman Bart Stupak “The attacks on 9/11 were horrendous attacks on our country and showed us some of our vulnerabilities. Now, in addition to that tragedy, we find that some of those deaths may have been prevented had there been a more adequate communications system in place,” Stupak said. “This information is an extremely unfortunate example of a vulnerability that exists in communities across the country. With more than 80 percent of America’s local first responders not able to interoperate, or communicate with their counterparts, the inability of first responders to communicate with each other is more than a major concern; it’s a threat to our national security.” He went on to observe that, “America cannot wait for another terrorist attack and suffer the loss of lives because first responders cannot communicate with each other. As founder of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus, we have demonstrated how the interoperability problem can be solved using today’s technology. I challenge the administration to apply this technology today to keep Americans safe.”
According to Cole “Admitting there is a problem with communications is only the first step in a complicated process of developing affordable solutions that make sense to end users and the tax payers who pay for the equipment. Governments have already spent billions of dollars on communications equipment, so we felt the solutions we were developing had to take into account all of the legacy radios already owned by these agencies. We took the time to sit and listen to the needs of the people who use this type equipment, the feet on the street folks. What does their world look like? What is important to these men and women? The public constantly asks them to put their personal safety on the line each time they go out to do their jobs, but is the equipment they currently use effective? It was remarkable how similar the issues were whether it was police, fire, search and rescue, border patrol, corrections, the list is long. So we gathered this information and began the process of developing TeamComms™, a wireless, hands-free, fully duplex mobile communications system to enable users to hear and be heard at the individual, team and command levels simultaneously.”
FirstLink’s support is consistent with the feedback we received from Bruce Aitken, President of Washington, DC based Homeland Security Industries Association who said “...we believe that Madesco’s TeamComms technology is in the right place at the right time.” Larry Cole concludes “With all the additional attention we have been receiving, Madesco is accelerating our funding efforts to commercialize TeamComms™, this is truly an exhilarating time at Madesco.”
About Madesco Technologies
Madesco is private company that was founded to take advantage of a unique gap in the communications market for Public Safety First Responders and Military. There exists a highly profitable opportunity for a unifying device that ties together various forms of legacy and specialized communications gear and also becomes the platform for enhanced communications. In the entire spectrum of person to person radio communications gear, multiple layers of communication technologies and diverse vendors has resulted in isolation and incompatibility at the individual level, hampering effective immediate team level communication. This presents a threat to personal safety during an emergency or terrorist attack. To help counter these potentially devastating issues for public safety officials, Madesco is developing TeamComms™. For more information please visit our website at http://www.madesco.ca/
About US Department of Defense FirstLink
FirstLink was established as the nations first Department of Defense (DOD) Technology Transfer and Commercialization National Center of Excellence for First Responder Technologies through a Partnership Intermediary Agreement with the United States Department of Defense Office of Technology Transition and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Their mission is to increase the rate at which first responder technologies are commercialized and transferred to the market place, where they can be made available to our nation’s first responders through U.S. manufacturers and small businesses. FirstLink supports the transition of technology from DOD laboratories to market by conducting initial technical reviews, market analysis, and identification of potential industry or private sector partners. There are nearly three million federal, state, and local first responders – fire fighters, law enforcement personnel, and emergency medical teams. Their role includes not only providing basic safety to United States citizens, but also securing our nation’s home front. Their need for the best technologies and equipment is more critical than ever.
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Contact
Madesco Technologies Inc.
Larry Cole
250-479-3747
www.madesco.ca/
Larry Cole
250-479-3747
www.madesco.ca/
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