Public Safety Vehicles
Stop by the public safety vehicle areas in the exhibit hall to see vehicles used in public safety in the past and present.
THOR
District of Columbia Office of Unified Communications
Exhibit Hall Booth #745
Baltimore Convention Center
THOR (Tactical Homeland Operations Resource) is a remote mobile emergency communications center (ECC) vehicle. The District of Columbia’s Office of Unified Communications purchased THOR in 2017 to be used as a tertiary backup site. THOR has 17 workstations and can be used to intake 9-1-1 calls, dispatch MPD or FEMS CAD events and respond to 311 CSRs from the District of Columbia.
The vehicle is self-sustaining with an onboard generator and UPS. It has an assigned fuel truck. THOR is furbished with its own 9-1-1 switch (or node). THOR can connect to the ESInet via FirstNET LTE, microwave, fiber and satellite.
9-1-1 call taking and dispatching can be accomplished aboard THOR with all the applicable 9-1-1 applications and systems that support the DC OUC 9-1-1 call floor.
Deployable Trunking System
National Capital Region - Communications Interoperability Group
Exhibit Hall Booth #1134
Baltimore Convention Center
During major incidents or large planned events, public safety agencies often require additional personnel at the scene, increasing the demand for communication resources and placing added pressure on agency Land Mobile Radio (LMR) systems. In 2008, the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) requested that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designate a portion of the unassigned 700 MHz reserve spectrum for "deployable trunked radio systems" designed to provide standalone communication capabilities for large-scale events or emergencies. Following an extensive rulemaking process, the FCC in April 2015 approved six specific channel pairs for use by deployable trunked systems. In response, NPSTC developed the National Deployable Trunking Plan.
In 2019, Region 20’s Regional Planning Committee — which covers Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Washington, D.C. — recognized the value of these systems for the National Capital Region (NCR) in supporting national security special events and large-scale incidents that often draw in multi-agency personnel from across the region and beyond. The system on display is a 2022 ATS/Motorola standalone deployable trunking system, fully compliant with the national standard. It is one of three systems acquired through Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) funding to serve the NCR, and all of Maryland, D.C., and Virginia.
