The city has awarded the defense company Northrop Grumman a $500 million contract to create a wireless network that will allow emergency responders to download fingerprints, mug shots, anti-terrorism databases, and other materials while in the field.

The five-year contract, announced yesterday by Mayor Bloomberg, will significantly upgrade the city’s existing emergency technology in a post-September 11th world where terrorism is a constant concern.

The award is a coup for Northrop Grumman, which beat out Motorola Incorporated for the deal after the two participated in a seven-month pilot of their wireless networks in Lower Manhattan.

The network — scheduled to be launched in Lower Manhattan by January and citywide by the spring of 2008 — will allow fire and police officials to get real-time photos, warrants, license plate data, maps, and other information on the scene, and will help in both day-to-day operations and during potential terrorist attacks.

The city called it “the most aggressive commitment by any municipality” in creating a public safety network. The system is designed to improve communication between agencies that are responding to the same emergency.

The communication breakdowns between police and fire officials was one of the most serious problems during the city’s response to the World Trade Center attacks; police officers in helicopters could not communicate with fire officials on the ground.

“One of the most important lessons learned from the September 11th attacks was that our emergency responders need better access to information and clearer lines of communication in the field,” Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday in a statement. “The Citywide Mobile Wireless Network will be a dedicated network that will ensure that public safety personnel will have the tools they need at their fingertips.”

City Council Member Gale Brewer praised the mayor for going forward with the project, but noted that it’s been delayed for years and that New York is “behind the ball,” when it comes to wireless technology. She said police officers currently don’t even have e-mail.

She said she was happy that some nonemergency agencies would be able to use the network, but added that the city should expand the network even further and do more to close the “digital divide.”

The city selected Northrop after testing both companies’ system in emergency simulations and crisis situations like a power loss.

In June, it gave each company a day to demonstrate its wireless network. The exercise included five city agencies using equipment as they would during a power outage or major terror event.

A spokesman for Motorola, Steve Gorecki, said the company was disappointed that it wasn’t chosen, but that it was just selected for another major project and is confident it will continue to work on city projects.