· Cassidian Communications and Verizon Business partner seamlessly to upgrade 9-1-1 equipment for immediate and coordinated response

· The Cecil County Department of Emergency Services Dispatch Center is now outfitted with next generation-ready solutions to better serve its community

TEMECULA, Calif., July 11, 2012—Cassidian Communications, an EADS North America company, announced the successful 9-1-1 equipment upgrade at the Cecil County Department of Emergency Services Dispatch Center in Maryland, with the partnership of channel partner Verizon Business. The ten call taking positions at the 9-1-1 center are equipped with the VESTA^® CS call processing solution, the Aurora^® management information system (MIS) and the ORION™ Vela^® mapping solution.

“As the primary 9-1-1 call center for Cecil County, it was imperative that we upgrade our center with modern technology to meet the increasing demands of population and call volume growth,” said Assistant Chief Kenneth Streets, Cecil County Department of Emergency Services. “This upgrade enables our call takers to perform their jobs with a higher level of efficiencies as they answer the communities’ calls for service and dispatch to the appropriate first responding agencies.”

The Cecil County 9-1-1 center is responsible for handling all emergency and administrative calls from the county population of approximately 101,000 residents. Dependent upon the incident in question, they are then responsible for dispatching to first responders within multiple law enforcement, fire and EMS agencies, as well as other partners requesting support.

“The Cecil County 9-1-1 center has been a Cassidian Communications customer since 1994. The longevity of our relationship enables us to work together to ensure the center has the appropriate solutions in place to handle their call volume effectively now and as the area grows,” said Mike Pavick, vice president, sales, Cassidian Communications. “This relationship allowed for a smooth transition from their legacy call handling equipment to the next generation-ready solutions now in place.”

The VESTA CS solution delivers advanced voice and data services from a highly-redundant IP-PBX including Voice over IP telephony, remote answering positions, local site survivability and network automatic call distribution. The VESTA CS solution provides seamlessly integrated IP voice and data communications. It features sophisticated call routing and automatic call distribution (ACD) with options including queue-based, skills-based and Network ACD, along with enhanced administrative control capabilities.

Completing the next generation solution suite designed for the Cecil County 9-1-1 center is the Aurora solution for complete call center metrics, as well as the advanced and configurable mapping solution, ORION Vela. Ensuring the integrity and reliability of its solutions, the 9-1-1 center also secured the Cassidian Communications comprehensive Managed Services for around-the-clock direct and secure connectivity with the Service Management Center.

Cassidian Communications continues to serve clients ranging from public safety operations to Fortune 1000 corporations to federal agencies. Collectively, the company has more than 40 years of experience deploying 9-1-1 call processing solutions, notification solutions and first responder digital trunked radio networks.

About Verizon Business (www.verizonbusiness.com)
Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), operates the world’s most connected public IP network and uses its industry-leading global-network capabilities to offer large-business and government customers an unmatched combination of security, reliability and speed. The company integrates advanced IP communications and information technology (IT) products and services to deliver leading enterprise solutions including managed services, security, mobility, collaboration and professional services. These solutions power innovation and enable the company’s customers to do business better.

About Cassidian Communications (www.CassidianCommunications.com)
As one of the largest and most trusted sources of mission critical communications solutions, Cassidian Communications, an EADS North America company, is leading the way in standards-based NG9-1-1 call center applications, notification solutions and services, and P25 land mobile radio systems. Cassidian Communications is headquartered in Temecula, California.

About EADS North America (www.eadsnorthamerica.com)
EADS North America is the U.S.-based operation of EADS, a global leader in aerospace, defense, and related services. EADS contributes more than $12 billion to the U.S. economy annually and supports over 220,000 American jobs through its network of suppliers. EADS North America, headquartered in Herndon, Va., offers a broad array of advanced solutions to meet U.S. military and commercial requirements, including fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, homeland security systems, public safety communications, defense electronics and avionics, and threat detection systems.