OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - (Business Wire) Every ten years, the U.S. Census is required by law to collect and count data in an accurate, timely and efficient manner. To further boost accuracy and efficiency, Harris Corporation, the system integrator for the upcoming 2010 Census, has selected Sprint (NYSE:S) as the exclusive wireless data provider to help automate the process and to provide wireline and wireless data support to collect the information in real-time. “Sprint provides the best value for the government by offering a cost-effective converged solution for the cellular and landline data needs of the program, while also leveraging a robust portfolio of managed services and their secure and reliable Now Network,” said Mike Murray, Vice President, Harris Census Programs. “As a result of the combined solutions and technology provided by Sprint and Harris, the 2010 Decennial Census is expected to be the most accurate in U.S. history.”
Beginning in April 2009, approximately 140,000 field workers carried the Harris custom-built devices operating on the Sprint network, with the ability to transmit collected data back to the Census Bureau in near real-time. In addition to their unique data collection capabilities, all hand held devices were equipped with GPS capabilities (allowing workers to verify addresses remotely without relying on printed maps) and fingerprint ID scanning for added security.
In addition, Sprint is providing several other solutions for this program, including:
- Approximately 500 Sprint Global MPLS sites across United States, allowing local Census offices to connect on a single IP-based network
- Roughly 1,500 managed devices including routers, switches, firewalls and Intrusion Detection Service (IDS) for additional security
- More than 150,000 active telemetry wireless devices that will allow workers to collect data remotely, resulting in more accurate reporting and substantially less use of paper
- About 1,500 mobile broadband connection cards, offering high speed connectivity on America’s most dependable 3G network*
- Significant professional services and integration expertise such as on-site security management, dedicated program management, and data center hosting services from Sprint, providing the critical infrastructure “glue” for one of the most complex activities of 2010
In past years, data was collected manually by thousands of field workers through paper address lists, printed maps and complex work assignments. The process was time consuming, expensive and often hampered by delays. To reduce its operational costs and increase efficiency and accuracy, the U.S. Census Bureau decided to use an automated system to directly capture data for the address canvassing portion of the 2010 Census.
The Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA) database designed and supported by Harris, will automate the collection and management of addresses and GPS data, to enable the first virtually paperless conduct of the address canvassing effort.
“Sprint is honored to play a critical role in this historic evolution of the Decennial Census program for 2010,” said Bill White, vice president for Federal Programs at Sprint. “Given our wireless data and IP leadership and Sprint’s highly dependable Now Network, we offer the most integrated wireless and wireline solutions in the industry. Our support will help the program reduce their costs, increase efficiency and deliver accurate information in real-time.”
It is expected that ongoing system and network integration provided by Sprint and Harris will allow the FDCA program to ultimately save time and deliver more accurate results, faster. The network services from Sprint will also help allow the bureau to meet the security requirements imposed by Title 13 of the U.S. code.
Sprint serves Harris and the U.S. Census through its newly formed Business Markets Group (BMG). Composed of more than 4,000 sales, support, marketing and operations personnel, Sprint’s BMG is dedicated solely to enterprise, general business and public sector customers. BMG delivers wireless, wireline and converged solutions for companies, drawing on the nation’s most dependable 3G mobile broadband network,* 4G capabilities that are well ahead of Sprint’s competition, the fastest national push-to-talk network,** and a comprehensive solutions portfolio of devices and applications. For more information on Sprint business solutions, visit www.sprint.com/business or contact your Sprint account team.
To join in the latest discussions and learn more about business solutions available through wireline convergence, visit the Seamless Enterprise at www.seamlessenterprise.com
*”Dependable” based on independent, third-party drive tests for 3G data connection success, session reliability and signal strength for the 50 most populous markets, January 2008 – February 2009. Not all services available on 3G and coverage may default to separate network when 3G unavailable.
**“Fastest” based on initial call set-up time.
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