Archive of the Networks & Systems Category

Black & Veatch was selected by the state of Oregon to provide architectural and engineering services for the Oregon Wireless Interoperability Network (OWIN) project that is designed to enhance public safety.

“The success of the OWIN project depends on the people with whom we contract and bringing Black & Veatch on board is an important step towards a successful project,” said OWIN Director Lindsay Ball. “We’re encouraged that Black & Veatch managers acknowledge the importance of putting Oregonians back to work.”

The OWIN project consolidates the Department of Oregon State Police, Department of Corrections, Department of Forestry and Department of Transportation radio systems into an up-to-date wireless public safety network. The system will replace outdated and aging infrastructure while complying with new Federal Communications Commission regulations requiring users of wideband radio to convert to narrowband technology before Jan. 1, 2013.

“This project will dramatically increase communications reliability and efficiencies for Oregon’s public safety officers,” said Martin Travers, President of Black & Veatch’s Telecommunications Division. “We have the capability to rapidly deploy engineering, site acquisition and construction experts to meet the challenging project timelines in an environmentally positive manner while accounting for future communications demand growth.”

The OWIN project will ultimately result in providing total communications coverage for public safety officials across the entire state. The network will consist of tower sites, communications buildings and power resources that are strategically located to provide reliable network operation. It is currently projected that the network will be operational by December 31, 2012.

“The initial site development will provide public safety communications network coverage to approximately 80 percent of the state’s total population,” said Paul Miller, Associate Vice President of Black & Veatch Telecommunications. “Black & Veatch’s design approach will optimize the cost, schedule and execution components of the project. OWIN benefits Oregon’s public safety officers as well as residents and visitors they protect and serve through efficient and coordinated communications.”

EF Johnson Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: EFJI) announced today that the State of Mississippi is purchasing $.85 million of the Company’s award-winning Project 25 compliant two-way radios and accessories, for use in the State’s strategic reserve in times of crisis.

“We are proud to be supplying our Project 25 compliant radios to the State of Mississippi to help their first responders be prepared in the event of natural disasters and other crises,” said Michael Jalbert, president and chief executive officer of EF Johnson Technologies, Inc. “Our radios have performed reliably in natural disasters and in severe environmental conditions. Our multimode radios that are interoperable with SMARTNET®/SmartZone® as well as Project 25 will enable Mississippi’s first responders to better accomplish their missions as their current systems migrate to the industry standard.” The Company worked closely with their dealer Ozborn Communications of Canton, Mississippi to secure the sale, Jalbert added.

Public safety agencies can significantly improve critical situational awareness and emergency response using Tiburon Inc.’s enhanced suite of software, security and analysis solutions. With this Tiburon solution platform, law enforcement officers, firefighters, first responders and dispatchers can make informed split-second decisions that will better protect the communities they serve and themselves.

Tiburon continues to improve the ability of public safety agencies to automate, communicate and leverage information to optimize dispatch, incident management and reporting, records management and corrections management across operational environments. Specifically, public safety agencies can realize the following:

Innovative new dispatching algorithms offer choices based on geography and resource types in dispatching the appropriate response units thereby optimizing response times and speed.

A brand new graphical user interface offers improved ease of use and a new night mode which improves safety and usability in the field.

Enhanced security features for corrections officers provide inmate separation management and critical alerts.

“From the most demanding conditions to day-to-day operations, public safety agencies require technology that can be relied upon to give them the most accurate picture of their operations,” said Ian Archbell, vice president, marketing and product management of Tiburon. “This latest set of product enhancements from Tiburon gives agencies the ability to make the right decisions the first time regarding how their personnel and other resources are deployed. We see this as a significant advantage for productivity, data accuracy and first responder safety among our clients.”

The upgraded product suite includes CommandCAD 2.5, CAD/2000 7.6, LawRECORDS 7.6 and JailRECORDS 7.6. All are available on July 1, 2009.

Tiburon CommandCAD 2.5 provides expanded features and quicker response times based on historical situational scenarios, including dispatching and incident control for law enforcement, fire protection and emergency medical services in single and multiple jurisdiction environments.

Tiburon CAD/2000 7.6 provides effective response and easy access to critical information, including a snapshot of the number of personnel assigned to an incident and the ability to quickly upgrade or downgrade incident priority.

Tiburon LawRECORDS 7.6 provides enhanced automated reporting for the California electronic citation and arrest reporting system (E-CARS) for required uniform crime reporting (UCR) submission. Arrest/booking numbers are now shared between Tiburon LawRECORDS, MobileREPORTS and JailRECORDS. LawRECORDS and MobileREPORTS 7.6 have an agency configuration option to either push or pull arrest data to or from Tiburon JailRECORDS to reduce duplicative data entry and speed the booking and report writing process. This improves workflow and reduces the time officers spend on data entry.

Tiburon JailRECORDS 7.6 leverages the latest Microsoft technologies to improve safety and reduce liabilities to correction facilities through new inmate separation management features and alerts to corrections officers.

More information on the product benefits is available at www.tiburoninc.com

Arlington County Emergency Communications Center recently implemented the APCO Institute Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) Program. Arlington County Emergency Communications Center provides 9-1-1 dispatching for Arlington County, Falls Church City, the Pentagon, Fort Myer Army Base and Arlington National Cemetery with a staff of 55 and an annual call volume of over 500,000.

The APCO Institute EMD Program, based on EMD Guidecards and software, is a systematic way to manage emergency medical service (EMS) resources in an organized and effective manner and to provide medical assistance to callers, when needed, until medically trained field response units arrive at the scene.

Arlington County Emergency Communications Center credits two saved lives to the program since its implementation, including one infant.

“The APCO Institute welcomes Arlington County Emergency Communications Center as an EMD User Agency and looks forward to working with their staff to provide EMD services to their area,” APCO Institute Director Julie Troutman said.

MILTON, Ontario and REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – June 4, 2009 – Milton Hydro, a local utility distribution company located in southern Ontario, along with Trilliant Incorporated, the leader in delivering Smart Grid solutions that enhance energy efficiency, utility operations, and renewable resource integration, today announced the expansion of Milton’s existing Smart Grid initiative. Milton, who first delivered Time-of-Use (TOU) billing to its customers in 2005, now provides TOU billing for over 21,000 consumers. The solution is already in full production at Milton, including Trilliant hosted data services and software, and provides for two-way communication capabilities between Milton Hydro and their customers. Furthermore, Milton has successfully completed production testing and enrollment with the province’s centralized Meter Data Management and Repository (MDM/R) system. This system is operated by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) in its capacity as the Smart Metering Entity.

Milton, part of the Greater Toronto Area, is Canada’s fastest-growing community, and is expected to reach nearly 150,000 residents by 2021. One of the earliest supporters of the government’s smart metering program, Milton Hydro has been using Trilliant technology since 2005 and is currently billing most of their customers on TOU rates. All new residential customers, approximately 2,000 per year, are immediately placed on TOU billing. Trilliant’s SecureMesh™ technology and associated data center applications include the necessary interfaces for integration with the MDM/R. Milton is one of the first utilities in Ontario to support TOU rates through the MDM/R.

The Government of Ontario, Canada, through the “Energy Conservation Responsibility Act in 2006,” has mandated the installation of smart meters in all Ontario businesses and households by 2010. Milton Hydro has completed the installation of smart meters for all their residential customers and all customers shall be on TOU billing by this fall, making Milton the first utility to fully implement Smart Metering and TOU billing.

“Trilliant has been a strategic partner of ours for many years and continues to play a central role in helping us realize our plans to be a leader in the adoption of information technology that benefits our customers,” said Frank Lasowski, President and CEO at Milton Hydro. “In addition, we’ve deployed SkyPilot equipment as part of our smart metering program and Trilliant’s recent acquisition of SkyPilot highlights their commitment to complete Smart Grid solutions. Very simply, Trilliant offers a working solution that meets or exceeds the Advanced Metering Infrastructure specifications and helps Milton Hydro bring new levels of value to our customers.”

“With a vision for the Smart Grid and the widespread implementation of TOU billing, Milton Hydro is creating a blueprint for other utilities to follow,” said Andy White, CEO of Trilliant. “Milton Hydro not only provided its customers with a successful, cost-effective rollout of smart meters and the assurance of continued wise energy management services, but also with a model that provides for easy adoption of new capabilities in the future.”

NICE Systems today announced enhancements to its NICE Inform™ multimedia incident information management solution for public safety and security command and control centers. NICE Systems will demonstrate NICE Inform and other NICE solutions in booth #108 at the upcoming NENA 2009 Conference and Tradeshow, June 6 through June 11, 2009, in Fort Worth, Texas.

The world’s first full-spectrum multimedia incident information management solution, NICE Inform was designed to help public safety and security command and control centers capture, consolidate and manage multimedia incident information, including audio, video, text and data. NICE Inform enables captured 911, emergency and other voice communications to be seamlessly synched with surveillance video and other incident information for more effective and thorough investigations. The newest release of NICE Inform (Version 3) includes the following feature enhancements:

Inform media player:

Attorneys, investigators, and other departments rely on many sources of information and evidence, including voice recordings and video. However, until now, it was difficult for the parties receiving the data to put the pieces together. Voice and video would be packaged, sent and reviewed separately. The new NICE Inform media player makes it possible for comprehensive incident reconstructions, including time-synched voice and video, and a myriad of supporting documentation, to be compiled and shared in an offline, secure and efficient way. Complete reconstructions and other incident-related information can be compiled and disseminated on CDs, DVDs, or by e-mail, and subsequently reviewed or replayed. Recipients get complete and precise reproductions for a 360° view of incidents, with visibility into what people saw, heard and did. Encryption and authentication ensures incident reproductions are secure and tamper proof.

Inform Verify:

NICE Inform already provides sophisticated tools for post incident analysis. Now, with the addition of Inform Verify to the NICE Inform suite, agencies can improve their real-time handling of incidents too. Call-takers benefit from Inform Verify’s instant call replay capabilities – features once only available through separate, standalone systems at additional cost. With Inform Verify, call-takers get instant access to recordings right through their consoles, in order to make informed, split-second decisions and save lives.

NICE Inform Version 3 is already installed at three NICE customer sites: the British Columbia Ambulance Service (BCAS), North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (N.C. A&T) State University, and the City of Westminster (Colorado) Police/Fire Department.

The City of Westminster first implemented NICE Inform in February 2008 and upgraded to NICE Inform Version 3 in April 2009. According to Karin Marquez , the City of Westminster’s Communications Supervisor, the City is already reaping cost savings, space savings, efficiencies and other benefits – using the system to fulfill incident reproduction requests for investigators and internal affairs. Previously, Marquez had to send out audio recordings and paper-based copies of CAD notes containing incident information, which often exceeded 20 pages. Now the Department uses NICE Inform to compile and distribute requested incident information electronically via CDs, providing more thorough documentation to investigators, while saving time, costs and filing space.

“I love the product,” Marquez said. “It has streamlined our processes and given our users more information than ever before. It’s great to be able to add CAD reports along with the audio, and ship the CD to detectives, so they can have everything in one neat package,” she added. “Not having to print the CAD notes has saved us a lot of paper and ink. It’s helped our agency become more environmentally conscious.”

“When we first launched NICE Inform, just over two years ago, it was our mission to help organizations across all of our security sectors improve their ability to capture, manage and make sense of critical multimedia information,” said Chris Wooten, President of NICE’s Security Division in the Americas. “We are very proud of the successful deployments of NICE Inform in all of our key security markets.”

NICE Inform is currently installed at hundreds of NICE customer sites, including some of the world’s largest public safety departments like the NYPD and the FDNY (the New York City Police and Fire Departments), and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). It is part of NICE’s comprehensive security suite that encompasses video analytics for proactive detection, to solutions that aid in the successful resolution and investigation of incidents and events. For more information on NICE Inform visit www.nice.com/solutions/public/nice_inform.php or email Welcome@nice.com.

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite network solutions and services, today announced the availability of a new HughesNet Emergency Business Internet service plan in anticipation of the 2009 hurricane season. The offering is designed to provide robust, expedited broadband Internet connectivity for business and government organizations when a disaster strikes.

The new HughesNet Emergency Business Internet service plan features download speeds of up to 5 Mbps and uploads speeds of up to 1 Mbps, made possible by utilizing Hughes advanced SPACEWAY® 3 Ka-band satellite system, the world’s first with on-board switching and routing. The service plan includes comprehensive 24/7 technical support; next-business day field maintenance; and provides organizations with the flexibility they need in an emergency, requiring only a two-month service commitment that may be extended on a month-to-month basis, depending on need.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted an active 2009 Atlantic hurricane season (June 1 – Nov. 30) with an initial outlook that calls for a 50 percent probability of a near normal season, and a 25 percent probability of an above normal season. In an announcement made May 21, NOAA forecasters also stated that “there is a 70 percent chance of having nine to 14 named storms, of which four to seven could become hurricanes, including one to three major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5).”

According to Renesys Corp., a firm that tracks Internet connectivity, the outages that followed Hurricane Ike last year caused the widest disruption of U.S. Internet service since the Northeast blackout of 2003. At its peak, Ike took out more than 400 networks for at least an hour each, leaving countless homes, businesses and government offices without connectivity.[1] <#_ftn1>

“Landline connections are not always reliable when hurricanes or other disasters strike, forcing organizations to cease operations until connectivity is restored,” said Mike Cook, senior vice president at Hughes. “This can mean significant loss of revenue for businesses, and disruption of government services, which are needed most in recovery operations. HughesNet Emergency Business Internet quickly restores those vital connections.”

Businesses can order directly from Hughes by calling (877) 337-3880. Government agencies can order via Hughes’ GSA Schedule 70.

To learn more about HughesNet services, visit www. hughesnet.com .

Harris Stratex Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSTX), a leading specialist in backhaul solutions for mobility and broadband networks, today announced EADS Defence and Security (DS), a systems solutions provider for armed forces and civil security worldwide, selected its end-to-end wireless broadband microwave transmission equipment and network service assurance solutions to support deployments of secured communications networks for the defense and security industries. Under the two-year contract, Harris Stratex will supply EADS DS with products and services, including the Eclipse™ radio platform, NetBoss® network management solutions and associated support services.

“Global defense and security organizations are increasingly moving to IP-based networks as an efficient means to seamlessly and securely exchange highly-sensitive information,” said Harald Braun, Harris Stratex president and CEO. “As one of the largest global suppliers of wireless transmission systems and network service assurance solutions, Harris Stratex is excited to supply our end-to-end networking technology and services to EADS DS, which have some of the most stringent technology and security requirements out there.”

Harris Stratex Eclipse technology provides scalable capacity, TDM and IP network intelligence, and key security features required for mission critical networks (for more, visit the product webpage ). The high-capacity Eclipse radios are optimized for networks with flexible, high-bandwidth capabilities. The Eclipse platform, which features a number of TDM wireless transport capabilities, including Super-PDH™ transport and compact nodal networking, will help EADS deploy increasingly stable, secure and future-proof communications networks.

Harris Stratex also will supply its advanced NetBoss XT™ service assurance solutions. The platform features highly-sophisticated management features, such as high-volume event processing and advanced, flexible filtering and correlation, enabling operators to quickly find and focus on service-affecting network issues, determine root causes and isolate trouble spots. For more information on Harris Stratex’ network management technology, please visit the overview webpage .

Daniels Electronics Ltd., a leading supplier of high reliability digital P25 Land Mobile Radio infrastructure equipment, and Icom America, an industry leader of state-of-the-art digital communications equipment for land, marine, ham (amateur) and avionics use, today jointly announced they have renewed their distribution agreement of Daniels radios via the Icom Systems group. The renewed agreement will continue to facilitate Icom Systems Group ability to offer turnkey radio solutions for Public Safety agencies in the United States as well as in Latin America. With Daniels recent announcement of a P25 trunked radio system that Icom handhelds have been successfully tested on, Icom will also have a larger portfolio of products to offer Public Safety customers.

According to Robert Small, President and Chief Operating Officer for Daniels Electronics, “The continuation of our collaboration with Icom enables Daniels offer infrastructure solutions to the public safety and commercial market in North America for turnkey solutions that we are unable to address alone. The renewed agreement also facilitates expanded sales of our new P25 trunked radio system and enables us to pursue P25 opportunities in Latin America”

Daniels recently announced its new P25 trunked radio system at the IWCE tradeshow in Las Vegas. Building on its highly successful family of MT-4E digital radios, the Standalone trunked system provides a trunked solution for public safety applications that require a single site system that is compact, easy to transport, offers rapid installation and low current consumption. Fully compliant to the P25 suite of standards the Daniels trunked radio system is designed to interoperate with all P25 trunked handhelds and mobiles.

Chris Lougee’s view at Icom is “We have been pleased to work with Daniels over the years since Daniels is a well respected provider of analog/digital repeaters and base stations. Now with a renewed agreement that allows us to sell their P25 trunked radio system we can combine their infrastructure with Icom’s subscriber units and system integration to strengthen Icom’s presence in the expanding market for P25 digital integrated LMR solutions. Icom will be able to offer agencies a completely integrated P25 system solution, with full engineering, project management and field support to ensure performance. The agency will benefit from the “one source” opportunity to purchase a true “turn key” P25 communication systems with all components designed to work together and supported by one team. We feel Daniels Electronics has a similar vision to ours…high quality products, with high quality support designed to meet the requirements of this special customer.’

P25 (Project 25) is a public safety standard for digital wireless communications defined by the Association for Public Safety Communication Officials (www.apcointl.org). These standards enable users to communicate with other agencies and mutual aid response teams in emergencies, for the safety and security of communities across North America and the world.

The Maryland State Police (MDSP) and the Maryland Emergency Number Systems Board (ENSB) recently contracted with L. Robert Kimball & Associates, one of America’s leading providers of architecture, engineering, technology and communications consulting services, to assist in the implementation of an advanced, Next Generation (NG 9-1-1) IP-enabled network. Once completed, the new network will be the first step in the transition to Next Generation 9-1-1 for the entire state of Maryland.

NG 9-1-1 represents the evolution from a legacy 9-1-1 system to a highly innovative system that will support new technologies and new communications applications used by consumers today. The current 9-1-1 system is aging and predominantly designed to provide access to fixed landline 9-1-1 calls. NG 9-1-1 will support new communications devices, such as picture, video and text-messaging. It will also help to connect PSAPs and enable the sharing of substantial amounts of data. The ultimate goal of NG 9-1-1 is to continue to provide timely, efficient and effective service to the public and public safety agencies.

Kimball will provide project management services to the MDSP and ENSB, such as procurement assistant and implementation oversight of the vendors who are selected to provide network infrastructure and 9-1-1 equipment. “We are extremely pleased to lead the State of Maryland’s evolution to Next Generation 9-1-1,” said senior vice president Joel McCamley, Kimball Technology and Consulting. “We are helping a number of state 9-1-1 agencies and other local and regional 9-1-1 entities migrate to NG 9-1-1. With this new contract, we are continuing our work on projects that help advance the 9-1-1 system and ultimately provide better response to our communities, which is our passion.”

In addition to Maryland, Kimball is also providing NG 9-1-1 transition support to Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Texas, Tennessee and Montana.