New Emergency Communications System Launched
Accompanied by U.S. Coast Guard officials, Lt. Governor Aiona on Tuesday announced the launch of a new system that will improve inter-island communications during statewide emergencies.
Lt. Governor Aiona addresses media with U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Timothy Sullivan (left) and Russ Saito, state comptroller with the Depatment of Accounting and General Services.
Known as the “Anuenue Project,” the new communications system has been seven years in the making and is designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 155 mph.
“It also means that, for the first time, our emergency responders will be able to communicate with one another by way of a dedicated system,” Lt. Governor Aiona told reporters during a morning news conference at the State Capitol. “We cannot afford to allow power outages to interfere with the ability of government agencies to communicate with one another during statewide emergencies.”
The Lt. Governor added that the new system replaces a 20-year-old system that has become so obsolete that the state and federal agencies were forced to decommission it in 2000. Among other improvements, the new system will help the U.S. Coast Guard’s ability to pinpoint distress calls from ships, boats and others stranded at sea.
The 15 towers that make up the system have been strategically built at high elevations, allowing state and federal agencies to transmit both voice and data from one end of the state to the other during emergencies.
The state’s part in the joint project with the federal government was overseen by Russ K. Saito, comptroller of the Department of Accounting and General Services, whose Information and Communications Services Division worked closely on the Anuenue System with the U.S. Coast Guard’s Electronic Systems Support Unit in Honolulu.
