Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Vendors offer interoperable answers

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 01 Apr 2003 01:05:23 -0500

Vendors offer interoperable answers

 BY Dibya Sarkar
 March 27, 2003

 As states and communities continue to strive for interoperable
 communications for first responders, vendors are offering devices
 that can save governments from having to build systems from
 scratch.

 Transcrypt International, a Lincoln, Neb.-based subsidiary of EFJ
 Inc., known for providing voice security in land mobile radios, has
 just introduced the Tactical Interoperability Kit (TIK), a portable
 device that can link portable and mobile radios operating in three
 frequencies.

 Meanwhile, another company — M/A-Com, a Lowell,
 Mass.-based unit of Tyco Electronics — has launched a scalable,
 network-based, fixed solution called NetworkFirst that uses IP to
 connect existing systems and radios.

 While the lack of interoperable radio communications has been a
 prime concern for many police officers, firefighters and other
 emergency response personnel for years, the widely publicized
 communications problems encountered by New York City police
 and firefighters in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade
 Center attack catapulted the issue into the national spotlight. Nationwide, first
responders
 communicate over different VHF, UHF and 800 MHz frequencies and through different
 technologies, whether analog or digital, conventional or trunked.

 "The reality is when entities come together, like our highway patrol and our county
sheriff, they
 were on different systems," said Michael Kelley, Transcrypt's general manager. "If one
had
 UHF and another was on 800 MHz, their radios would not shake hands and therefore, they
 would not talk to each other."

 He said each first responder agency using Transcrypt's device would submit a radio to be
 attached to TIK. The cross-band device basically would link the frequencies of the
various
 radios together into a seamless voice communication system.

 Kelley said it works even if one of the agencies has an encrypted voice communications
system.
 It also extends radios' range and runs off radio batteries without diminishing the life
of the radios
 themselves, he added.

 So far, Nebraska's state highway patrol and several fire districts in Washington state
are using
 TIK. "Our new product is very small, very simple, easy to use. It's extremely durable and
not
 really expensive," said Kelley, noting that a unit costs $1,999.

 M/A-Com's NetworkFirst converts audio signals into IP digital data packets that are
 transmitted to a regional operating center. The center then sends the digital messages
over a
 private intranet connecting multiple radio systems, said Jay Herther, the company's
federal
 market manager.

 He added that a nationwide network could be formed by linking existing systems — of all
 makes, modes and frequencies — and combining them into regional operating centers. "It
 makes it so the technology is future-proof and you can continue to upgrade," he said,
adding
 there's no limit to the number of users for this technology.

 He added NetworkFirst is cost-effective compared with developing a new radio system and
 buying new radios.

 "It's a variable cost depending on how many agencies and users, but typically it's less
than 10
 percent of the alternative of upgrading the system," he said.
http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2003/0324/web-interop-03-27-03.asp
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