The month of August began with a packed week in Orlando, Florida, for the annual Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International conference and exhibition. The event began August 4, just as Hurricane Debby was making landfall. Luckily, Orlando was spared from the worst of the storm, which had moved north as the event wrapped up August 7.
Interoperability was an evident theme throughout the event, with most new products and announcements from vendors and public safety agencies promoting the ability to communicate across technologies, agencies, and emergency incidents. Mission-critical communications around high-profile events continues to keep interoperability in the spotlight, and Tait Communications is committed to standards-based converged critical communications solutions. Tait Communications works to help its customers and partners embrace interoperability, whether it be among spectrum bands, standards, or networks.
During a professional development session at APCO, Robert Stolz, president of Stolz Telecom, a communications provider in Oklahoma, Texas and other areas, highlighted the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety’s PatrolNet network used by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. The 700 MHz P25 conventional network provides enhanced coverage and interoperability for its officers. The 11 fire departments, eight law enforcement agencies, and two ambulance services agencies in Texas County, Oklahoma, located in the Oklahoma panhandle, a remote part of the state, recently joined PatrolNet with minimal investment and have added new radios to the network. The county is surrounded by Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma, so being able to communicate with agencies in those areas is imperative, and the P25 network offers enhanced coverage and interoperability compared with the county’s previous communications systems. Robert and Justin Carnagey, director of the Texas County 9-1-1 Trust Authority, presented the details during the session.
To further enhance public safety communications technology integration, Tait Communications announced a partnership with Handsfree Group to globally market the Tait R5 Broadband Command and Control solution, including exclusive sales in the U.S. and Canada. Ideal for public safety agencies and utilities, the Tait R5 is a broadband-based edge computing platform that integrates with P25 and DMR radio networks and Tait mobile terminals. The product delivers an open standards Android-based broadband connection integrated with P25, DMR, and conventional LMR solutions. The Tait R5 delivers a single in-vehicle interface to access a broadband hotspot, push-to-talk over cellular (PTToC), 4G/5G cellular networks, and mapping, as well as to manage multiple video streams and control vehicle lights, sirens, external PA speakers and matrix signage. The system can reduce the amount of equipment needed in the limited space available in a vehicle and decrease the cost of a fully integrated vehicle solution.
During the two days of the APCO exhibition, visitors to the Tait Communications booth showed a high interest in the TP9900 multiband and multiprotocol P25 and DMR portable radio on display. Historically, a local police agency using a P25 network has been limited in its ability to communicate directly with an agency operating on a DMR system, such as a local fire department or school district, without special configuration such as a console patch. The Project 25 (P25) Compliance Assessment Program (CAP)-compliant TP9900 bridges the interoperability needs of both P25 and DMR users who need to communicate with each other.
Also on display at the Tait booth was the Tait LifeX by Frequentis console platform for North America. LifeX is designed to seamlessly integrate various radio systems, including analog and P25, while also accommodating capabilities such as DMR, MCX, 911, and NG911 in the future. In line with interoperability, the LifeX Unified P25 Gateway is the first standalone console certified under the P25 CAP with Console Subsystem Interface (CSSI) testing performed on the Tait P25 TN9400 node controller and listed on the P25 CAP Approved Equipment List.
Speaking of the P25 CAP program, overseen by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ensure and promote P25 interoperability, program leaders are looking at the best methods to add the Interworking Function (IWF), which bridges LMR and LTE systems, and MCX testing to the P25 CAP program. To achieve IWF compliance in P25 CAP, successful conformance and interoperability testing must be achieved. P25 CAP leaders plan to assess all three of the IWF interfaces under the program.
As our industry’s interoperability initiatives continue to evolve, Tait Communications is proud of its leadership position in open standards and mission-critical communications interoperability. To learn more about how open standards can contribute to your organization’s interoperability advancements, visit the Tait Communications website.
Blog authored by: Sandra Wendelken – Strategy and Insights Manager, Tait Communications
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