APCO: All Interoperability, All the Time

There’s no doubt that the face of public safety communications has changed dramatically since 9/11. Historically complex and difficult for agencies to address and manage, communications has become even more challenging during the past three years. The 2005 Association of Public Safety Communications Officials Annual Conference, held August 22-24 in Denver , Co. , provided evidence that the communications industry is continuing to aggressively develop solutions and work with agencies to address interoperability issues in disaster situations.

Amid increasing concerns about terrorist activity on American soil, agencies are scrambling to get up to speed by upgrading their communications technology infrastructures. The urgency has not been lost on the companies attending APCO, as many of the show’s announcements centered at least in part on the need for reliable communications in the event of a large scale disaster.

Along those lines, the dominant theme at APCO was the continued need for improved interoperability between the agencies, across both public safety functions and jurisdictions. Companies are addressing the ways in which they can tailor solutions to assist agencies in providing the highest level of service during an emergency. The general sense at APCO was that communications technology is now beginning to reach a level where it can effectively deliver on its promise of seamless interaction between agencies in mission critical situations.

One of the hottest topics at the show was the increased emphasis on streaming video as a vital tool with applications for all public safety agencies. Many APCO vendors featured setups demonstrating their products’ ability to provide agencies with the tools to stream and manage video reliably and effectively.

All in all, APCO 2005 gave attendees a glimpse into an industry that is reaching new heights of relevance in a complicated time for the public safety industry.

Some notable news and announcements from the show:

Cisco and CML team to provide IP-based network solution

Cisco Systems and CML Emergency Services announced that Cisco will offer CML’s IP-based “Patriot” solution to public safety organizations worldwide. The Cisco-CML teaming will speed the adoption of CML’s systems at Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) around the world , giving them the ability to more rapidly gather and share critical information with internal and external stakeholders in order to respond more rapidly and effectively to emergency situations.

Patriot 3.0 converges voice and data onto a single IP network to simplify decision-making and enhance communications capabilities. It also readies public safety organizations for the integration of data streams of pictures, video, text and any future IP-based technologies. Patriot serves as a communications and collaboration platform for homeland security, disaster planning and response and the everyday requirements for 9-1-1 centers in North America as well as 1-1-2 , 9-9-9 and other emergency numbers in other countries.

For more information, visit http://www.cml.com/forms/index.asp?DSP=template&act=view3&template_id=598&lang=e&publish=draft

Proxim announces new low-cost products for deployment of wireless municipal networks

Proxim Wireless announced the availability of two new products - ORiNOCO® AP-4000M and AP-4900M – that enable the deployment of wireless broadband municipal networks. Both are priced to appeal to municipal customers in places where it was previously cost-prohibitive to install network wireless edge access devices, providing an alternative to expensive leased lines, fiber optics, or DSL.

The AP-4000M employs a dual-radio mesh component to create self-forming and self-healing non-line of site (NLOS) mesh networks with voice and video capability, meaning that if a mesh link becomes obstructed, client traffic is dynamically re-routed to maintain uninterrupted video streams and voice calls.

The AP-4900M is the first enterprise-class dual-radio 4.9 GHz public safety access point available on the market. The solution offers municipalities, agencies and wireless ISPs simultaneous 4.9 GHz public safety and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi edge access with dual radio access points and mesh networking. Using the ORiNOCO Mesh Creation Protocol (OMCP), the AP-4900 may be deployed in vehicles to allow continuous communication with AP-4900Ms statically mounted in locations throughout a coverage area.

For more information, visit http://www.proxim.com/about/pressroom/pressrelease/pr2005-08-22.html

CellAntenna urges jamming legislation to combat cellphone-triggered explosives

CellAntenna, a Florida-based provider of cellular repeaters and jammers, released a statement at APCO from its founder and CEO, Howard Melamed, pushing for a change in legislation regarding the use of jamming technology. Melamed, who has appeared on MSNBC discussing the issue, has been an outspoken proponent of the need for safety officials to be able to jam remote control and cellular communication frequencies to prevent remote detonation of bombs. Current laws prohibit the use of any radio frequency jamming equipment by private and public organizations.

For more information on CellAntenna or to watch Melamed’s appearance on MSNBC, visit www.cellantenna.com.

TriTech to provide City of Dallas with CAD solution

TriTech announced that it has completed a deal with the City of Dallas to replace its 30 year-old Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) solution with TriTech’s VisiCAD Command. The new CAD system will support Dallas ’ police, fire and EMS agencies, serving as a turnkey solution that will allow for CAD data sharing between city agencies and jurisdictions.

VisiCAD Command captures all major data points throughout each call to provide immediate comprehensive data to enable rapid decisions in emergency situations.

For more information, visit http://www3.tritech.com/corporate/.

JLT Mobile Computers partners with Scottscom to provide Disaster Preparedness Call Center

Rugged computer manufacturer JLT Mobile Computers has partnered with network solution provider Scottscom to create a Disaster Preparedness Call Center (DPCC) solution, a mobile, converged communications system that can be deployed wirelessly to serve the needs of an Emergency Services organization in the event of an incident that would require a “mobile contact center” with call center functionality for command and control. The DPCC incorporates applications such as interactive voice response, multi-media messaging, audio conferencing and video conferencing. In an emergency, the DPCC system can be packed up in a secure case and taken on the go to be set up at any mobile command post. JLT’s fully-rugged computers are military certified and designed to withstand extreme conditions and abuse.

For more information, visit http://www.jltmobilecomputers.com/

Harris Corporation integrates security and situational analysis applications with H-Class

Harris staged a demonstration at APCO to illustrate how third-party applications can integrate with its H-Class™ Content Delivery Platform to support mission-critical communications for emergency response. Public safety agencies can leverage the H-Class platform to integrate valuable high-bandwidth content (audio, video and pictures) typically stored within agencies’ existing databases, and manage and distribute the content to users of varying types. Designed to address communications interoperability both at the technical and operational levels, the H-Class Content Delivery Platform scales from single-site to nationwide deployments, across jurisdictions and various communications disciplines.

For more information, visit http://www.harris.com/view_pressrelease.asp?act=lookup&pr_id=1647

InterAct unveils integrated TrueSentry video surveillance solution

InterAct Public Safety Systems unveiled its new integrated TrueSentry video surveillance solution featuring IQinVision’s high-performance network cameras and ActivEye’s real-time video analysis tools. The integration of IQinVision’s IQeye smart network cameras will enable TrueSentry to focus more sharply on a specific target but retain a consistent surveillance field, while ActiveEye will allow the video surveillance system to spot and track suspicious behavior in a more effective manner, saving system operators time and bandwidth costs. The use of advanced analytics is expected to reduce the potential for missed events and cut the number of false alarms by focusing on prescribed patterns of activity.

TrueSentry is currently deployed in a wide variety of locations -- including construction sites, public buildings, manufacturing plants and regional airports – to provide real-time security monitoring of valuable assets.

For more information, visit http://www.interactsys.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=News.Article&NewsID=30

Padcom’s TotalRoam software awarded RSA Secured certification

Padcom announced that it has joined the RSA Secured Partner Program to certify interoperability between Padcom’s TotalRoam software and RSA SecurID for Microsoft Windows and RSA SecurID two-factor authentication solutions. The technical partnership was established to increase security for customers using TotalRoam to deliver mission-critical and productivity applications to remote workers.

Padcom’s TotalRoam wireless software solution provides enterprises with continuous application delivery for mobile workers and wireless devices. TotalRoam allows agencies and enterprises to integrate dissimilar networks and create a seamless application delivery network, allowing mobile workers to gain access to software and information in the central office and out in the field. Its open architecture allows businesses to integrate a variety of network technologies without becoming locked into a single solution.

For more information, visit http://www.padcomusa.com/releases-05-08-16.shtml