City of Huntsville partners with Southern Linc to deliver mission critical LTE wireless data services

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Aug 15, 2017, 11:00 ET

ATLANTA, Aug. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Company subsidiary Southern Linc has entered into a partnership with the City of Huntsville and Madison County Alabama's 911 dispatch center. Southern Linc will add LTE equipment to select Madison County towers to connect City and County first responders to Linc's new mission critical LTE network.

The Huntsville agreement enables Huntsville and the Madison County 911 Dispatch Center (MadCo 911), Alabama's largest combined dispatch center, to use Southern Linc's mission critical LTE network for wireless data transmission.

"Southern Linc is a trusted service provider that has supported the City of Huntsville for more than 10 years. This new data service agreement is specifically designed to help our first responders better serve our community," stated Bill Steiner, Information Technology Services Director for the City of Huntsville.

Public Safety IT Manager Lorenzo Wright added, "We are extremely excited to begin this new public/private partnership with Southern Linc. This is a giant step forward for public safety and first responders in north Alabama."

MadCo 911 CEO and Director of Radio Infrastructure Ernie Blair has been working with Southern Linc to bring mission critical wireless data services to his service area via a public/private network partnership for the last two years. "We are excited about deploying wireless data service with Southern Linc because it will bring us a service level that's just not available from other carriers," he said. "Linc's new mission critical LTE network is built for reliability and priority, and our agencies will reap the benefit of priority and pre-emption of services when critical events occur. That's something we need and are not getting today," Blair continued.

Mission critical LTE data service is expected to be available in Huntsville and Madison County in the second quarter of 2018. Southern Linc is constructing its new 4G LTE Advanced network to meet the growing mission critical data needs of its largest customer, Southern Company's electric utilities. The highly reliable and secure network will serve the most crucial data needs of area businesses and local government like the City of Huntsville and the MadCo 911 Center.

"Our goal is to provide highly reliable, secure wireless communications for utilities, public safety and business customers," stated Southern Linc President and CEO Tami Barron. "Because our most important customers are utilities and first responders, we designed our new LTE network to accommodate the need for priority and pre-emption over normal network traffic when emergencies occur. That means Huntsville and Madison County first responders will get the data they need when they really need it--especially when network usage spikes."

Southern Linc's new 4G LTE Advanced network will offer network encryption over the air. In addition, the company is strengthening emergency backup power capabilities with hydrogen fuel cell technology at key locations and is adding main power and complete data center redundancy to further increase the reliability of the new network. Southern Linc plans to begin migrating existing customers to the new network in 2018.

About Southern Linc
Southern Linc, a Southern Company (NYSE: SO), is an Atlanta-based regional wireless carrier with network coverage in the major metro and rural areas of Alabama, Georgia, southeast Mississippi and northwest Florida. Southern Linc combines multiple communication options, including Push To Talk two-way radio (PTT), cellular service, wireless Internet access, wireless data, and text and picture messaging, into one hand-held device. Southern Linc is constructing a new 4G LTE Advanced network to meet the growing mission-critical data needs of its largest customer, Southern Company's electric utilities. The highly reliable, secure network will have the capacity to serve the most crucial data needs of area businesses and local government as well. For more information, please call 1-800-818-LINC (5462) or visit https://www.southernlinc.com/.
Twitter: @southernlinc
Facebook: SouthernLINCWireless

About Southern Company
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is America's premier energy company, with 46,000 megawatts of generating capacity and 1,500 billion cubic feet of combined natural gas consumption and throughput volume serving 9 million customers through its subsidiaries. The company provides clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy through electric operating companies in four states, natural gas distribution companies in seven states, a competitive generation company serving wholesale customers across America and a nationally recognized provider of customized energy solutions, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and affordable prices that are below the national average. Through an industry-leading commitment to innovation, Southern Company and its subsidiaries are inventing America's energy future by developing the full portfolio of energy resources, including carbon-free nuclear, 21^st century coal, natural gas, renewables and energy efficiency, and creating new products and services for the benefit of customers. Southern Company has been named by the U.S. Department of Defense and G.I. Jobs magazine as a top military employer, recognized among the Top 50 Companies for Diversity by DiversityInc, listed by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity and designated a Top Employer for Hispanics by Hispanic Network. The company has earned a National Award of Nuclear Science and History from the National Atomic Museum Foundation for its leadership and commitment to nuclear development and is continually ranked among the top energy companies in Fortune's annual World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility rankings. Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.

SOURCE Southern Linc