Public Safety Data Network

The Public Safety Data Network (PSDN) is an ultra-high speed and flexible fiber optic data network that will serve as a base transport infrastructure and interconnectivity pathway for public safety related applications and services throughout the State. Its primary purpose is to provide the required connectivity for Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG911) services. In addition, the PSDN provides a single connectivity source to allow the integration of systems, applications and disparate networks so that vital information and resources can be more easily shared among the various public safety entities throughout the State. The installation of the fiber and the required network equipment is now complete at every PSAP in the State.

The stand-alone, "separate silo", legacy network infrastructure systems that Connecticut public safety agencies utilize today minimally meet the bandwidth requirements for current users, and are grossly inadequate for near or long term project future data transmission requirements. Additionally, these stand-alone networks lack the high-speed universal data connectivity (or have no connectivity at all) that will be required to support upcoming and next-generation applications.

Today, the PSDN has an overall bandwidth capacity of 10 Gb available to support applications and services. In comparison, most remote sites interconnect today at either T-1 speeds (1.5Mb) or possibly 10Mb and operate internally at 100Mb or 1 Gb. For reference, a 10 Gb connection is equal to approximately 21,504 T-1's. It should be noted that this exceeds current bandwidth requirements and should provide adequate expansion capacity without additional hardware. However, when requirements necessitate additional bandwidth, the PSDN can be expanded up to 1,600 Gb (1.6 Terabytes) in the near future, without requiring a "forklift" upgrade.

By providing a single ultra-high speed connectivity source to allow for interconnection of the various public safety entities' data networks, the ability to easily share vital data and networking services becomes possible. The PSDN enhances interoperability capabilities as well as reducing overall costs that would otherwise be incurred to accomplish these tasks by leveraging a common infrastructure.

Leveraging Connecticut's previous investment in the Connecticut Education Network, DESPP was able to take advantage of the many miles of existing fiber throughout the state. Under the existing state contract for fiber used for this project, extra fiber strands that were already installed on many routes were available to the state at a far lower cost than for completely new installations. Phase 1 of the PSDN connects DESPP, DAS/BEST and all 109 of our PSAPs, and was budgeted at $27.5 million, funded by the 9-1-1 surcharge.

During 2010, Connecticut was successful in leveraging our PSDN investment as the match to obtain an additional $93.8 Million in federal funds from the Broadband Technologies Opportunities Program (BTOP). This federal grant program provided funding to extend the PSDN to over 400 additional public safety sites at Fire Departments and Police Departments throughout the state, as well as providing connections to extend the Connecticut Education Network. BTOP allowed DSET to complete Phase 1.5 (install PSDN to all Police Departments that are not PSAPs) and Phase 2 (install PSDN to Fire Departments that are not PSAPs) of the PSDN as a single project with no additional state funding required, years earlier than would have been possible in our original plan. The performance period of this grant began September 1, 2010, and all installation work on this project was completed in 2013.

There are 3 primary applications that utilize the PSDN for transport and connectivity:

Next-Generation 9-1-1 (NG911) Services
DESPP, Connecticut On-Line Law Enforcement Communications Teleprocessing (COLLECT) System
Statewide shared radio application for radio interoperability (commonly known as the "P25" controller)

In addition to delivering NG911 calls and data throughout the state, the PSDN provides a platform for emergency services radio interoperability between municipal police, fire, EMS services throughout the state as well as with and between those agencies and the Connecticut State Police and other state agencies. It provides criminal justice information systems access to law enforcement agencies throughout the state, greatly reducing our state's current costs for discrete circuits serving the cities and towns.

Summarizing the PSDN features:

High-speed data connectivity to all 109 PSAPs and approximately 400 additional public safety locations
Fiber optic reliability (99.999%, or "5-9s")
System architecture utilizing multiple rings and multiple touch points between the rings, constructed with carrier-class equipment provisioned with redundant facilities, all designed to withstand multiple failures without affecting service
Highly secure implementation partitioned to protect NG911 service in every instance
Significant savings over current network costs
A significant increase in efficiency
Easy upgradability to provide additional speed and/or connectivity without requiring "forklift upgrades"
The ability for each PSAP to serve as a connection point for other public safety locations (local, state, and federal) to connect into the network

Because of the high number of physical sites to be connected and the funding streams used to support the program, the overall project has been separated into phases:

Phase 1 (Completed):

Phase 1 commenced in 2009 and established the base fiber optic network topology and interconnection of the existing PSAPs, the DESPP HQ building in Middletown and the DAS/BEST data center for identified priority applications. This phase is currently in use, and encompasses a total of 109 PSAPs, utilizing a fiber footprint that includes approximately 2000 miles of existing fiber installation as well as approximately 240 miles of newly constructed fiber pathways in a seven-interconnecting-ring topology utilizing Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology. It was released for service in the first quarter of 2012.

Phase 2 (Completed):

Phase 2 of the CPSSDN provides expansion of the PSDN into Police Departments, Fire Departments and Emergency Operations Centers that are not PSAPs or not co-located with PSAPs. The 9-1-1 surcharge provided the match for this project through its funding of Phase 1. Phase 2 was funded through the BTOP grant.

The expansion provides secure, high-speed connections to approximately 400 public safety locations, providing criminal justice information systems connectivity where required and dramatically increasing the reliability of dispatch services at the time of an emergency call. As with Phase 1, all connectivity is accomplished via dedicated fiber optic cabling to each location, utilizing appropriate fiber optic transceivers. The topology is a mixture of both hub and spoke as well as subtending rings. Each of these spokes or rings connects to one of the 109 existing Phase 1 locations. Completion of Phase 2 has greatly enhanced agency interoperability capabilities, data sharing, and overall communications while improving constituent services and safety.

DSET completed the build-out of Phase 2 of the PSDN during 2013. The state is currently accepting requests to transport public safety applications on the PSDN.

Governance is required to manage the connections, expectations, service level and costs related to our users taking advantage of any additional capabilities over and above the original three applications — NG911, COLLECT and P25 Controller connectivity — provided in the basic PSDN. As is the case with all shared resources of this type, a governing board is a necessity to deal with the policy decisions that will need to be made on an on-going basis for the operation of the system.

PSDN Details

PSDN Governance Committee Meeting Schedule

Meetings are tentative and begin at 10:30 AM:

April 15, 2020
June 17, 2020
August 19, 2020
October 21, 2020
December 16, 2020

All meetings are held at:

Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection
1111 Country Club Road
Conference Room 252
Middletown, CT 06457

Connecticut State Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection

Public Safety Data Network