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The Justice Department announced Tuesday that it has selected General Dynamics C4 Systems to implement a portion of an imperiled wireless communications project for police and first responders.

The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based communications company will serve as Justice's integrator for the Integrated Wireless Network program, a shared effort by the Justice, Homeland Security and Treasury departments to build a nationwide wireless communications network. A recent audit found that the relationship among the agencies had fallen apart and the project is imperiled.

The report from the Justice Department inspector general's office stated that despite more than six years of development and $195 million in funding, the Integrated Wireless Network project "does not appear to be on the path to providing the seamless interoperable communications system that was envisioned."

According to an announcement from Justice, General Dynamics was selected because of its work during the project's design competition, which was the final phase of the acquisition. In August 2006, the department asked prospective companies to prepare and submit system designs and implementation plans for specific geographic areas of the country.

Justice, Homeland Security and Treasury agreed in 2004 to work together to develop the network, which could cost as much as $5 billion through 2021. The contract with General Dynamics is available for use by other IWN partners, the announcement stated.

"A key principle of the IWN program is flexibility to evolve and account for changes in the wireless technology industry and operational requirements of the partner agencies," said Vance Hitch, the chief information officer at Justice.

A DHS spokesman said the announcement demonstrates the commitment of the project's partners to creating an integrated wireless environment. The spokesman said DHS "certainly may" use the General Dynamics contract and that its "goal is to implement cost-effective interoperability solutions in each geographic region of the country while using federal purchasing power."

Ed Roback, acting CIO at the Treasury Department, applauded Justice's establishment of the contract, saying that Treasury will be a smaller user than DHS and Justice, but the contract will be a key component in Treasury's efforts to modernize its wireless capabilities.

The project would permit 81,000 federal law enforcement officers to communicate across agencies and with state and local partners.

The Justice agencies involved in the project are the FBI; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Bureau of Prisons and the Inspector General Office.

DHS agencies involved are Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the Transportation Security Administration, the Secret Service, the Coast Guard, the Federal Protective Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration are the two Treasury components involved.

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