San Juan Capistrano, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/12/2007 -- In response to President Bush’s 2003 Homeland Security Directive requiring a national preparedness goal to better respond to disasters, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office in Northern California, hosted Urban Shield, a one of a kind training event intended to bring the components of the National Response Plan to life in an urban setting. IP Access International, business satellite internet provider and partner Cobalt Equipment, played an integral part in the full 4-day event held September 28 – October 1st, providing satellite bandwidth for large-scale communications field exercises. An Incident Command System structure, with Area Commands, coordinated over 20 training venues simulating various terrorist attacks in a large geographic area throughout Alameda County.

This was an outstanding opportunity for IPA and its partner Cobalt to develop a partnership with law enforcement and participating agencies, demonstrating what works and is available for emergency response preparedness communications and how to improve interoperable communication for the effectiveness of emergency responders involving multiple jurisdictions.

The logistics necessary to manage Urban Shield were enormous. IPA’s and Cobalt’s satellite bandwidth and emergency service demonstration platforms utilized for this training event, is what enabled the testing for operational readiness. "It is critical to foster relationships between business and law enforcement, which is essential to preventing and responding to large scale disasters," says Bryan Hill, President of IP Access International.

"The private sector is on the front line of homeland security efforts due to their responsibility to oversee approximately 85% of our nation’s critical infrastructure sites," adds Rob Knabe, President of Cobalt Equipment. "We are here and ready to give participating agencies a practical opportunity to test and evaluate its team’s level of preparedness and ability to perform a variety of intricate tactical operations."

About IP Access International
IP Access International is a global business satellite internet, voice, video and data connectivity provider delivering fixed and mobile satellite solutions to businesses around the world. IP Access International offers high performance, end-to-end networking for voice, video and data services around the world. With advanced satellite communications on land and sea via a sophisticated infrastructure of linked satellites and land networks, IP Access International provides businesses with multi-network communications all through a single source provider. IP Access International's global headquarters are located in San Juan Capistrano, California, U.S.A. For more information, visit http://www.ipinternational.net or call 866-510-7889

About Cobalt Equipment
Cobalt Equipment, Inc. specializes in high quality rental equipment for Special Events, Construction and Emergency situations. While purchasing and maintaining a fleet of rental equipment for the construction industry is their primary line of business, they also offer a full scope of satellite communication equipment and support featured in USA Today as cutting edge. They provide and run their satellite communication systems and equipment from their headquarters in Pleasanton, CA. Satellite phones, internet services and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are just a few of the high-tech services offered in any location. For more information see us at http://www.cobaltequipment.net