HOW OCEAN CITY, MD. HELPS KEEP RESIDENTS AND VISITORS SAFE … · Electronics Services,for the Town...

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The magazine for critical radio system users

NETWORKFIRST DEMOLINKS STATE AND LOCAL

AGENCIES ACROSS KENTUCKY

RADIO COMMUNICATIONSIN OZ

HOW OCEAN CITY, MD.HELPS KEEP RESIDENTS

AND VISITORS SAFE YEAR ROUND

CHANNELSis published by M/A-COM 221 Jefferson Ridge Pkwy.Lynchburg, VA 24501

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ContentsCHANNELS volume 4, issue 2

Ocean City’s radio network continues to impressThe town of Ocean City, Maryland, installed a single-site

EDACS® network in 1993. Now the system has been upgraded

and expanded, and joined by a new system in surrounding

Worcester County.

MCS Digital – M/A-COM’s Australian representativeWith two decades of experience with M/A-COM radio products,

MCS Digital serves Australia, New Zealand and other nations in

Asia/Pacific as a distributor and EDACS SMR network operator.

MCS Digital and Origin Energy partner in VictoriaWith the privatization of Australian utilities, the MCS Digital

EDACS network helps Origin Energy serve customers statewide.

NetworkFirst demonstration links Kentucky agenciesstatewideNearly 200 First Responders from across the Commonwealth of

Kentucky witnessed the link-up of state and local agencies' voice

communications during this landmark demonstration.

Frequently Asked Questions about NetworkFirstM/A-COM’s interoperability solution for first responders has gener-

ated a lot of interest. Here’s a collection of FAQs.

M/A-COM radios aid communications at Kentucky DerbyRadio communications for the Kentucky Army National Guard

were augmented with 100 loaner radios for the 129th running

of the Kentucky Derby last May.

New announcements from M/A-COMA new P25 Trunked VHF radio system for narrowband users,

a C3 MaestroIP Dispatch Console, and new multi-mode IP

portables are announced at this year’s APCO Conference.

News Bites The latest on who’s buying M/A-COM commu-

nications systems.

Training Center ScheduleA listing of all classroom and online training

center classes scheduled for the third and fourth

quarters of 2003.

On the Cover:Volunteer firefighters fromFrankford, DE, watch as emer-gency vehicles line up for theannual Maryland StateFireman’s Association paradeat Ocean City, MD,Wednesday,June 19, 2002. AP/Worldwide Photo

A member of the Ocean City BeachPatrol radios other supervisors whilepatrolling the waterfront from an all-terrain vehicle.

CHANNELS VOLUME 4 ISSUE 2

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A decade ago, Ocean City,Maryland, was primarily

known as a vacation townin a region that swelled inpopulation from about15,000 to 250,000 duringthe warm months of sum-mer. Situated on a barrierisland along Maryland’s Eastern Shore,Ocean City has a long-standing reputationfor offering a warm, family-friendly Atlanticbeach and boardwalk getaway to millionsliving in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C.,metropolitan area.

As the number of visitors soared in thesummer months, however, so too did thetown’s responsibility for ensuring the safety of visitor and resident alike. In theearly 1990s the town decided to upgrade itsradio communications and after a two-yearbidding process, the town made the decisionto purchase an EDACS 800 MHz trunkedcommunications network.

“The first of a three-phase installationbegan in early 1993 and continued throughlate 1994,” says Robert Dimaio, Captain,Electronics Services, for the Town of OceanCity. Phase one included a nine-channel, sin-gle-site system with site controller and tele-phone interconnect. Dimaio says the systemwas installed 5 miles inland for protectionfrom wind-related storms and to ensure

good mobile radio coverageto the nearest hospital,which was 30 miles to thewest in Salisbury, Maryland.

Trust built slowlyDimaio points out that in1993, 800 MHz trunking

technology was relatively new, and the cityelected to follow a more conservativeapproach to rolling out their network. “Whilemost buyers rush to get their public safetydepartments on line quickly, Ocean Cityassembled a talented six-person team com-posed of key people drawn from manydepartments to manage the project. Theteam decided to put non-critical departmentson line and build confidence in this newtechnology first, and to iron out any bugs thatmight occur, prior to moving critical respon-ders on,”he says.

However, the city issued radios to a fewpublic safety individuals to use on a trialbasis to complement their older existingradios. “This allowed key personnel to build acomfort level with the new system gradually,”says Dimaio,“and they later helped promotethe network within their own departmentsand to volunteer fire company members.”

Phase two included seven new C3 Mae-stro consoles, a CEC switch, and a 4-channel

A decade on, Ocean City’s radio network

continues to impress

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“It seems like this equip-ment never dies, and wecontinue to find new waysto benefit from our invest-ment of taxpayer money.”

Robert Dimaio

continued ‹

© 2003, The Washington Post. Photo by Ricky Carioti. Reprinted with permission.

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Ocean City, Maryland obtained itssingle-site EDACS system in 1993.In 2001 Worcester County pur-chased a 3-site ProVoice network.The two systems are linked via aNetwork Interface Module.

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hot-standby system. The standby was locatedin the town’s new public safety building andincluded emergency power and a fold-downantenna. The backup system could be putinto operation at any time simply by pressingone of three strategically located buttons.Fortunately the backup system was neverneeded, but Dimaio says it provided a safetynet that was reassuring to have, just in case.

A success from the startWith completion of the third installationphase in late 1993, all city services were onthe network. “The system was a successright from the start,” says Dimaio, who cred-its the management teamthat was assembled duringthe design review and deci-sion making stages withplaying a key role in thesuccessful implementationof the network. “The ‘goslow’ approach and involve-ment of key personnel early on proved tobe a good policy. When you allow the usersto have input during the process, it tends toincrease their satisfaction with the systemonce it’s completed,” he says.

The network was so successful that twoadditional frequencies were applied for andadded to the system in 2000. The town alsoadded an emergency talk group,“located inposition number nine – a carry over from theold CB days,” says Dimaio. Emergency com-munications dispatchers monitor the channel24/7, allowing a thousand radio users to have

instant contact with the police, fire andEMS dispatchers. This system is heavily

relied upon and Dimaio says there is no question that it has saved lives.In addition to voice, the police depart-

ment currently uses 40 mobile data ter-

minals. This feature was not added until sev-eral years after the system was installed.“Even though the system was advertised as ‘data ready,’ we were at first skeptical.Our concerns were unfounded, however,and the system has performed as adver-tised,” says Dimaio.

Changes in population fuel expansion Ocean City’s population has grown tremen-dously in the decade since the radio system’sinstallation. Though it still swells in the sum-mer, Dimaio says the population growthexperienced throughout the region and thefact that the town now offers a year-round

schedule of events hasincreased demand on thetown’s communications network. In addition, theexplosive growth of cellularcommunications has dramat-ically changed the wirelessenvironment.

“We’ve been operating our public safetyradios from a tower five miles away, whilecellular systems were blasting in at a muchhigher relative signal strength. Our radioswere getting lost in the noise and signal satu-ration. In some places we could no longerplace or receive calls,” says Dimaio.

To combat the situation, a city task forceinitiated a two-year study of newly availabletechnologies. The task force’s conclusion wasthat at that time there was no better technol-ogy than what they already had.Furthermore, due to M/A-COM’s long standingcommitment to non-obsolescence, their prob-lems could be solved primarily with softwareand hardware upgrades to their existingEDACS network.

“We decided to build a new tower in themiddle of Ocean City, purchased the latestSitePro technology to replace our aging SiteController and added two auxiliary votingreceivers. SitePro brings the functionality ofa single site controller per site to each of thesite’s 11 channels. It facilitates a true distrib-utive architecture because now, any channelon the system can be a control channel withfull-featured trunking, even if other channelsbecome disabled or taken out of service. Wealso upgraded our old System Manager to aCSD, and added ProVoice™ digital dispatch-ing to our consoles and police radios. Thenwe recycled our old 11-channel, single-sitesystem into our hot standby. We exercise thebackup system every Monday morning to

“I challenge anybody tofind a system that is

more relied on and thatcontinues to get the job done, day in and day out.”

Robert Dimaio

“When you allow theusers to have input dur-ing the process, it tends

to increase their satis-faction with the system

once it’s completed.Robert Dimaio

”

Photo: Robert Dimaio

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keep it ready for use. Our old four-channelstandby system will be recycled as four con-ventional repeaters and placed throughoutthe county to add to the nationwide emer-gency communications channel plan(NPSPAC). It seems like this equipmentnever dies, and we continue to find newways to benefit from our investment of tax-payer money,”Dimaio says.

The results of the upgrades speak forthemselves. “We are very happy with theresults of our expansion and upgrades.During peak loading times in the summerand on holidays, the network routinely han-dles up to 75,000 PTTs per day from its baseof about a 1,000 users citywide. And wegreatly reduced the interference problemscaused by the multiple cellular providers sat-urating our region,” says Dimaio.

Reputation leads to countywide networkOcean City’s radio network had been extended informally during the late1990s,when several local police departments out-side of Ocean City had purchased EDACSradios and were added to the network.Also at this particular time,Worcester Countyneeded to replace its aging public safetyradio system and was impressed by reportsthat Ocean City’s EDACS network was a bighit with users.

After consultation with the users on theOcean City network,Worcester Countysigned an agreement in December, 2001, toform a communications partnership withOcean City. The County purchased its ownstand-alone, three-site, 10-channel EDACSProVoice simulcast system. When complet-ed, users on both the Ocean City andWorcester Co. networks will have access tothe coverage and capabilities of both systemsthrough a Network Interface Module. TheNetwork Interface Module links the standalone Ocean City system to the stand aloneWorcester County system and providesunparalleled coverage for county and citypublic safety and service agencies through-out the entire region. Installation of theWorcester County network began inFebruary, 2002. System acceptance andcutover to the County’s new 9-1-1 centeroccurred approximately 11 months later.

Worcester County Director of EmergencyServices Teresa Owens says there were anumber of reasons why the county selectedthe ProVoice system. “The existing partner-ship between Ocean City and M/A-COM and

the ability to networkOcean City’s system to atotally separate, stand-alonesystem in Worcester Countywas very important to us,”Owens says. “This networksolution not only breaksdown communications bar-riers by providing directinteroperability, but also fos-ters a positive working rela-tionship between all countyand city agencies. No othervendor’s system on Mary-land’s Eastern Shore is cur-rently networked togetherlike our Worcester Countyand Ocean City systems.”

Owens says that two other reasons thecounty selected ProVoice was its “superiortechnology,” and “M/A-COM’s history andcommitment to its customers to never againhaving to totally replace their communica-tions system.” Clay Stamp, Director of Emerg-ency Services for Ocean City, confirms theimportance of the company’s commitment tothe non-obsolescence of its radio products.

“When Ocean City recently decided toupgrade its existing M/A-COM system, welooked at various communications alterna-tives. We elected to remain with M/A-COMand ProVoice due to the company’s com-mitment to a partner-type relationship, as wellas their commitment to backwards compati-bility as they migrate systems forward viatechnology. Ultimately,our ProVoice system iscapable of growing to match the pace of theincreased communications requirements asso-ciated with a growing Ocean City,”Stamp says.

Success creates job satisfactionPerhaps the greatest measure of the OceanCity communications network’s success isthe appreciation expressed by its many users.“I receive a great deal of job satisfactionwhen public safety responders report thatthis tool is better than ever, and allows themto perform their job better,”Dimaio says.“While I know there are many larger systemsinstalled throughout the world, I challengeanybody to find one that is more relied onand that continues to get the job done, day inand day out. I invite any agency that may bethinking of purchasing a new communicationsystem to come visit Ocean City this summer,enjoy our famous boardwalk fries, and take atour of our system.” n

Ultimately, our ProVoicesystem is capable ofgrowing to match thepace of the increasedcommunications require-ments associated with agrowing Ocean City.”Clay Stamp

“

SYSTEM OVERVIEWWORCESTER COUNTYPRIMARY USE:Countywide voice opera-tions for all public safetyand county servicesTYPE:10-channel, three-site ProVoiceFREQUENCY:800 MHz USERS:1,000 county/1,000 cityCOVERAGE:Countywide

SYSTEM OVERVIEWOCEAN CITY

PRIMARY USE:Citywide voice and dataoperations for all publicsafety and city services

TYPE:11-channel,

single-site ProVoiceFREQUENCY:

800 MHz USERS:

1,000 city/1,000 countyCOVERAGE:

Citywide/countywide

SPECIAL FEATURE:Separate Ocean City and Worcester Co. systems can be

linked together through Network Interface Module whenever necessary

Photo: Robert Dimaio


Mobile Communication Systems Pty. Ltd.,now known as MCS Digital, was estab-

lished in 1982 with the opening of offices in Melbourne and Sydney. That same year,the company installed the first trunked radiosystem in Australia.

“It was an 800 MHz GE MARC V, and weprovided communications to subscribers inVictoria with it for more than a decade,” saysMCS Engineering Director Don Warring.Fourteen years later the company began thebuild-out of what is today an 18-site EDACSnetwork providing integrated trunked voiceand data to subscribers throughout its110,000 square-mile coverage area.

Warring’s ties with M/A-COM’s radio prod-ucts go back to the late 1970s. “I had workedwith General Electric in Lynchburg for awhile and knew both the products and the

people,”he says.“In May,1982,we

purchased theassets of GE Mobile

Radio Australia and estab-lished MCS.” The company has

been providing sales, engineering,installation, and maintenance for radio

equipment to the region ever since.By 1987, MCS had closed its Sydney

office and consolidated its staff in Mel-bourne. It then opened in office in Auck-land, New Zealand, more than 2,000 miles to the east. In 1998 the New Zealand office expanded as a separate company,MCS Digital RT Ltd. “The Directors of MCSAustralia retained part ownership of theexpanded company, which sells variousradio products in addition to running anEDACS Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) network,” says Warring. Today the two companies maintain over 40 EDACS sitesthroughout Australia and New Zealand.

The growth of EDACSThe 1990s saw the introduction of EDACSintegrated voice and data networks through-out the region. In 1993-94, MCS installed an11-channel EDACS network at the JakartaAirport, Indonesia. “That was followed in1994-95 with the original 16-site wide-areaEDACS network on the North Island of NewZealand to serve business and industrial sub-scribers,”Warring says. The New Zealandnetwork has since been expanded to 23sites and serves subscribers with approxi-mately 3,000 terminals.

The company expanded its base ofEDACS customers in 1995 with a contract toconstruct a private, 50-site EDACS integratedvoice and data network for the neighboringAustralian State of Tasmania’s water depart-ment,Tasmanian Hydro. A few years aftercompletion of the statewide system, thedecision was made to share the network –and the cost of maintenance and upgrades –with another user.

“Police Tasmania joined the network in1998 with Aegis digitally encrypted radios,”says Warring. The system now consists ofmore than 70 sites, with approximately 1,200terminal units in use by Hydro Tasmania andthe police department. The network pro-vides 95 percent coverage statewide andnorthward into the Bass Straight betweenTasmania and Victoria in support of thepolice department’s marine activities. The

“We’ve invested morethan $10 million (AUD) in our infrastructure,

and it’s extremely robust and reliable.

Don Warring

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5 WITH MORE THAN TWENTY YEARSOF LOCAL EXPERIENCE, MCS DIGITALIS M/A-COM’S REPRESENTATIVE INAUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND OTHERASIA/PACIFIC COUNTRIES. WITH A HEAVYINVESTMENT IN EDACS INFRASTRUCTURE, MCS IS ALSO A MAJOR SUP-PLIER OF WIDE-AREA VOICE AND DATA COMMUNICATIONS FOR BUSI-NESSES, UTILITIES AND INDUSTRY THROUGHOUT THE REGION.

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MCS Digital supportscritical communications

in Oz

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network is currently owned andoperated by Ericsson Australia.

The EDACS boom continued,with MCS installing three EDACS

networks for Comalco, a miningcompany with smelters in Australia

and New Zealand, in 1997. “Our sistercompany in New Zealand supports theComalco refinery there, while we supportComalco’s refineries in Bell Bay (Tasmania)and Gladstone (Queensland),”Warring says.

MCS Digital’s business has extended farbeyond Australia and New Zealand. Inrecent years the companyhas completed projects inLityan Malaysia, which iscurrently evaluating a datanetwork, and the PoliceDepartment in the City ofMadras, India who had anEDACS trial system installedin 2000. MCS Digital hasalso installed a 4-channel analogue systemacross the Fijian island of Viti Levu, and an18-channel linked system in Western Samoaon the islands of Upolu and Savaii.

SMR operations find eager customersBoth MCS Digital in Victoria and MCS DigitalRT in New Zealand have enjoyed strongdemand for their respective SpecializedMobile Radio (SMR) networks. Warring saysthat the subscriber base in New Zealandtends to be comprised of mainly businessand industrial users, while the Victorian net-work serves mainly utilities and oil/gasrefineries (see related story, page 7).

“In New Zealand, more than half the pop-ulation is within 200 miles of Auckland, onthe North Island. That concentration of pop-ulation creates an ideal business market forthe wide-area voice and data communica-tions that EDACS provides,” says Warring.

In Australia, the population tends to beconcentrated around the perimeter of thecontinent. “It’s also a relatively flat terrain.Finding suitable transmit/receive sites is diffi-cult and expensive, since outside the majorcities there are few tall structures and towersare costly,”Warring says.

Add limited spectrum availability to thedifficulty of finding sites, and it’s not hard tosee why the newly-privatized utilities –including gas, electricity and water – can’tjustify the cost of building-out and maintain-ing their own infrastructure. “That’s one reason our EDACS network, which covers

over 110,000 square miles across Victoriaand into South Australia to Adelaide, is soattractive. We’ve invested more than $10 mil-lion (AUD) in our infrastructure, and it’sextremely robust and reliable,”Warring says.

Two additional advantages of an EDACSnetwork in Australia include the fact thatother available radio technologies, such asTETRA, tend to require more sites for a givenarea of coverage. “We can provide the samecoverage with fewer sites. That saves quite alot on overhead, which means we can chargeour subscribers less,” says Warring.

The other EDACS advan-tage is the availability ofintrinsically safe and robustportables, which add anextra measure of safety tousers in hazardous environ-ments. Warring notes thatother major subscribers tohis network include mining

and oil companies, such as ExxonMobil, whooperates a gasoline refinery near Melbourneand has about 300 terminals on the network.“Safety is very important to refinery operations, and M/A-COM’s porta-bles have an excellent record for safety and reliability,”he says.

Communications secured for the future As for the future,Warring is optimistic.“EDACS has provided the base for our com-pany for more than a decade. It’s the ‘defacto standard’ for trunked voice and datacommunications in the region. In addition,new product enhancements such as theEDACS IP Gateway and NetworkFirst canonly reinforce its value. Our customers and subscribers have seen over the yearsthat M/A-COM’s continuing commitment tonon-obsolescence means that they won’t be left stranded with an outdated technology, and that our ability to service and maintain their radio equip-ment is guaranteed.” n

M/A-COM’s intrinsicallysafe portables have anexcellent record forsafety and reliability inhazardous environments.”Don Warring

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MCS Digital,Origin Energypartner inemergency call center inVictoria

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Like many state and national governments around the globe, the Australian state of

Victoria privatized its government-ownedutilities in the late 1990s. Among theassets sold off by the state governmentwas an entity known as the NationalResponse Centre (NRC), which had beenestablished in 1972 to respond to Victori-an emergency calls concerning natural gasleaks in the state.

“In 1999, Origin Energy purchased the NRC assets from the Victorian stategovernment as part of theprivatization process. TheNRC is now operated as a “ring fenced” businessunit of Origin Energy,” saysShane Rayner, Manager ofthe NRC.

As a result of the priva-tization, the NRC’s role haschanged from being aninternal, reactive cost center servicing a single entity (the Gas & Fuel Corpora-tion of Victoria), to that of being a com-mercially focused, proactive national ser-vice provider.

“The NRC serves seven major energybusinesses that outsource their emergencycall and field dispatch activities, not just inVictoria, but nationwide,” Rayner explains.

Some of NRC’s clients rely on the Cen-tre for all their emergency call handling,while others maintain their own call cen-ters during normal business hours, butroute calls to the NRC during off-hours.“In fiscal 2001-2002, we received morethan 102,000 inbound gas emergency callsfrom all over Australia. We also handledanother 88,000 non-emergency calls.Each of those calls was processed by anNRC response officer who took the call,assigned a priority to it, and either dis-

patched [Aussies call it ‘despatch’] aresponse team immediately or scheduled a later dispatch,” says Rayner.

Radio communications essentialIntegral to the NRC’s operations are radiocommunications for dispatch of individu-als or teams to the scene of a gas leak orcustomer service request. “Before privati-zation, the NRC used its own UHF radionetwork in Victoria and southern NewSouth Wales. Then, as now, other regions

used a mix of owned andleased radio systems,”Rayner says. However, thegovernment decommis-sioned and sold the 20-year old Victorian systemin early 2000, and the NRChad to find a way toreplace the network.

“We required access toa modern radio network that was bothscaleable, and capable of voice and datatransactions to and from the field,” Raynersays. Because of the emergency nature ofthe calls, the radio network also had to be


SYSTEM OVERVIEWPRIMARY USE:SMR system for utilities

CURRENT NUMBER OFSUBSCRIBERS:400 NRC users; 1500 total

FREQUENCY: 800 MHz

CHANNELS: 55

COVERAGE AREA:110,000 sq. miles

SPECIAL FEATURES:Intrinsically safe portables;mobile data

“The NRC serves sevenmajor energy businesses

that outsource theiremergency call and field

dispatch activities... nationwide.”Shane Rayner

The National Response Centre in Victoria, Australia,has been responding to emergency calls about gasleaks since 1972.

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extremely reliable. After some preliminaryresearch into the matter, the NRC realizedthat purchasing its own radio system wasnot feasible. “We just couldn’t make thebusiness case that we should construct,operate and maintain a new radio commu-nications network ourselves. The cost wasprohibitive,” he says.

The NRC’s search for asolution came to an endwhen they investigatedMCS Digitals’ highly capa-ble and reliable EDACS net-work (see related story,page 5). “We had heard good reports aboutthe EDACS network that the TasmanianPolice and Tasmanian Hydro had installedbetween 1996 and 1998. We also knewthat MCS Digital had a 17-site network inVictoria that provided coverage over morethan 110,000 square miles,” Rayner says.Most of the network’s coverage was inVictoria, but it also reached into parts ofSouth Australia to the west as well as northto the border towns of New South Wales.

Rayner says that it was clear that if itlived up to its promises, the existingEDACS network would be everything theNRC required, at least throughout Victoriaand parts of New South Wales. Just asimportant was the fact that MCS was inter-ested in developing a partnership with theNRC in order to further expand its net-work and to gain access to the same mar-kets that interested the NRC.

EDACS thoroughly evaluatedHowever, before finalizing the deal inAugust 2000, the NRC conducted a thor-ough evaluation of EDACS voice and datacapabilities by visiting three major gas andelectric utilities in the US.

“We visited Consumers Energy inMichigan, Northern Indiana Public ServiceCompany, and Texas Utilities in Dallas,”says Rayner. Each of these utilities oper-ates voice and data applications overEDACS networks. “We also visited theCity of Honolulu in Hawaii, who uses anEDACS network for public safety and cityservices,” he adds.

The visits were a success. “These visitsconfirmed what MCS had told us aboutEDACS’ capabilities and reliability. Wewere very impressed by what we foundfrom both a technical standpoint and froma business perspective. We knew we had

found the right radio system and the rightpartner to extend our business.”

Don Warring, MCS Director of Engineer-ing, says the NRC and MCS were a perfectfit. “We had been providing radio commu-nications to utilities and refinery opera-tors throughout the region for years, and

had invested about $10million (AUD) in our infra-structure. The EDACS net-work has a lot of capacityand we realized that part-nering with the NRCwould allow us both to

expand our businesses,” he says.Rayner agrees. “We are both active in

the utilities market and bring togetherseparate skills. The NRC wants to build onits 30-year history of providing call centerand dispatch services to the gas industryby expanding our operations into waterand electricity utilities. These are thesame markets that MCS serves. We com-plement each other with our separateexpertise and together provide addedvalue to customers.”

For the futureIn early 2003 MCS Digital added anothersite to their network, bringing the total to18. Then in July, 2003, the NRC addedColiban Water, one of Victoria’s regionalwater companies, as a client, and the com-pany is actively pursuing other relatedutility providers throughout Victoria andthe rest of Australia. At the moment, MCSis concentrating on areas already coveredby the existing EDACS network. However,the company is keen on helping the NRCto grow by working on ways M/A-COMtechnology can help to bring down thecost of connecting the Centre to radionetworks nationwide.“Utility companies in all the different

states around Australia use a host of differ-ent mobile radio technologies and manydifferent vendors and operators. We’relooking into ways that we might utilizeNetworkFirst to help in our radio dis-patch, for example. Since it providesinteroperability to almost any system pro-tocol, from any vendor and on any fre-quency, it may well prove to be extremelycost-effective to deploy. We’ll just have towait and see,” says Warring.“In the mean-time, we’ll continue to provide cost-effec-tive coverage over our 18-site network.” n


“We knew we had foundthe right radio system

and the right partner toextend our business.”

Shane Rayner

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Voice communications for four dif-ferent Commonwealth of Kentuckypublic safety agencies, all on dis-parate radio systems, were linkedtogether during the May 23, 2003demonstration of NetworkFirst. Theresulting IP network stretched morethan 360 miles from east to west.

The need for PublicSafety communications

interoperability is well rec-ognized. The challenge isto enable multiple agen-cies, at multiple locations,using disparate frequen-cies, and equipment frommultiple manufacturers toeffectively communicate with each other.

The Kentucky Army National Guard(KyARNG), Kentucky State Police (KYSP),Kentucky Division of Emergency Manage-ment (KyEM), and Frankfort Fire Depart-ment recently participated in a highly suc-cessful demonstration of true LMR multi-agency interoperability across the Common-wealth of Kentucky. Nearly 200 FirstResponders from across the Common-wealth witnessed the demonstration onMay 23, 2003.

These agencies used their existing radiocommunications systems connected byNetworkFirst. NetworkFirst is an LMRinteroperability solution built on IP switch-ing, as opposed to audio patching. This isan important distinction because IP switch-ing enables NetworkFirst to make switch-ing decisions based on talkgroups, call pri-ority, preemption, and blocking – featuresnormally associated only with digitalTrunked radio systems.

Ray A. Nelson, Executive Director for theOffice of Security Coordination of KentuckyHomeland Security witnessed the demon-stration and noted,“It provided a demon-

stration of voice communi-cations interoperabilityacross the breadth of theCommonwealth ofKentucky. We sat in theEOC in Frankfort and lis-tened to an EmergencyManagement Technician inPikeville talk directly to a

National Guardsman in MuhlenbergCounty; all on disparate radios. CW3 DavidBarker on the KyARNG technical staff saidit all when he said,‘That’s a first.’ ”

This article provides a technicaloverview of the interoperability scenariosthat were demonstrated with these federal,state, and local users through NetworkFirst.

Radio system connectivity: audio to IPA NetworkFirst Network Switching Centerwas installed in the KyEM EmergencyOperations Center in Frankfort for thedemonstration. A NetworkFirst NetworkSwitching Center contains a high availabili-ty, redundant software voice switch applica-tion.This voice switch application joinsDigital Voice Units (DVUs) together in inter-operability group calls.

The first step to NetworkFirst interoper-ability is converting audio to IP packets.This task is performed by NetworkFirstDVUs. The DVUs are connected to LMRequipment including consoles, base sta-tions, and desk sets through four-wire (4W)audio and signaling connections.

One DVU was connected through a

Federal, state and local LMR interoperabilitydemonstrated across theCommonwealth of Kentuckywith NetworkFirst

“It provided a demon-stration of voice commu-nications interoperability

across the breadth of the Commonwealth

of Kentucky”Ray A. Nelson

FRANKFORT

GREENVILLE

MAYFIELD

By Kevin Ressler, M/A-COM Principal Engineer

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4W connection to the KyEM EmergencyOperations Center console switch.Another DVU was connected to the KYSPconsole switch in Frankfort through a 4W connection. A third DVU was con-nected to a VHF control station, which was used to reach the Frankfort FireDepartment VHF Repeater. The individualDVUs were connected to commercial off-the-shelf routers through 38.4 kbpsSLIP RS-232 connections.

Three locations outside Frankfort par-ticipated in the demonstration: the KyEMoffices in Mayfield andPikeville and the KyARNGRange Control base inGreenville. The KyEM dis-patcher at Frankfort con-nected technicians at theMayfield and Pikeville VHFsites through consolepatches established at the FrankfortEmergency Operations Center.

All voice traffic to and from the KyARNGGreenville location was carried through theKentucky Army National Guard’s wide areaIP network as voice-over-IP packets. TheDVU connected to the KyARNG consoleswitch in Frankfort converted the audio intodigitized IP packets. The IP voice packetswere securely routed across the network toa router at the Greenville location, wherethey were converted back to audio byanother DVU. The audio input/output andPTT from the DVU was connected to a VHFrepeater at the Greenville site.

It should be noted that Motorola man-ufactured both consoles and all the VHFrepeaters. NetworkFirst provided the first voice interoperability ever demon-strated among these federal, state, and local systems.

In this demonstration, NetworkFirst pro-vided interoperability among four VHF radiosystems. Because NetworkFirst interfaceswith legacy ratio systems at the audio level,NetworkFirst could just as easily have pro-vided interoperability over even more radiosystems using different bands.

From tones to talkgroupsThe DVUs perform another important func-tion: they associate audio tones withNetworkFirst talkgroups. A NetworkFirsttalkgroup is a group of users who wish tocommunicate with each other. These usergroups can be combinations of fixed-loca-tion and mobile users, such as dispatchersand field personnel. A city police precinctcould create a “Police1” talkgroup for theircommunications. Talkgroups can also becreated for interoperability between agen-cies. For example, the Frankfort Fire

Department and KyARNGcommunicated throughtalkgroup “FFire1”and theArmy and State Police com-municated through talk-group “NG-SP”. Talkgroupscan also be shared by threeor more agencies.

The NetworkFirst Network SwitchingCenter uses these talkgroups to determinewhich users and LMR equipment to switchtogether during a call.

When a KyARNG or KYSP dispatcherselected the module tied to NetworkFirst attheir console, tone remote control (TRC)function tones were included in-band withtheir audio.The DVU connected to the con-sole switch matrix processed the functiontone and associated it with a prepro-grammed NetworkFirst talkgroup.

Similarly, the DVUs attached to theGreenville VHF repeater and Frankfort VHFcontrol station processed the sub-audibleCTCSS (Continuous Tone Coded SquelchSystem, also referred to as “PL” or “ChannelGuard”) tones and in-band audio to digitalIP packets with a NetworkFirst talkgroup.

NetworkFirst switchingThe voice switch application at theNetworkFirst Network Switching Centerjoins DVUs together in interoperabilitygroup calls, based on the talkgroups end-users select.

Some interoperability solutions require

We sat in the EOC inFrankfort and listened to an Emergency Man-agement Technician inPikeville talk directly to a National Guardsman inMuhlenberg County; all on disparate radios.”Ray A. Nelson

“

continued ‹

“CW3 David Barker onthe KyARNG technical

staff said it all when hesaid, ‘That’s a first.’”

Ray A. Nelson

PIKEVILLE

A Network Switching Center wasinstalled in the Kentucky EmergencyManagement Operations Center. TheKentucky State Police and FrankfortFire Department (through a VHFControl Station) were linked throughfour-wire audio connections, and theKentucky Army National Guard inGreenville was connected throughthe NetworkFirst IP network.


dispatchers to physically hard-wire patcheslive at the scene of an incident. Othersrequire a dispatcher to manually selectgroups to patch together in a reactive,ad-hoc basis.

NetworkFirst reverses the paradigm byenabling Public Safety agencies to proactive-ly create interoperability talkgroups for pre-planned interoperability situations whileproviding the flexibility to quickly createnew interoperability groups as needed.

Dispatchers play a critical role in allPublic Safety communications, especially soduring interoperability situations. Mostinteroperability solutions enable only dis-patchers to connect user groups and initi-ate interoperability voice calls.NetworkFirst enables dispatchers and fieldpersonnel to independently initiate interop-erability calls and select whom they wantto communicate with.

The NetworkFirst interoperability solutionallows dispatchers and field personnel tomaintain their usual communications withintheir agency while enabling selective com-munications with additional agencies duringinteroperability situations. NetworkFirst talk-groups provide this “granular”control ofinteroperability communications.

This is in contrast to other interoperabili-ty solutions which effectively create a“party line” in which all patched partici-pants hear all conversations, whether theyare intended to be kept within a singleagency, within a subset of the patched agen-cies, or all patched agencies.

Interoperability with user selectivityThe KyARNG and KYSP dispatchers creatednew console modules on their existing sys-tems for the NetworkFirst demonstration.Each console module was programmed

with multiple TRC function tones. Dis-patchers selected a particular “channel”within the module depending on whomthey wanted to talk to. NetworkFirst DVUsconverted the TRC function tone and dis-patcher audio to the desired talkgroup.The NetworkFirst Network SwitchingCenter then processed the call.

The KyEM technicians at the Mayfield andPikeville locations communicated normallyduring the demonstration using their VHFradios. The KyEM dispatcher at Frankfortpatched them in as desired, and the KyEMsubscribers pressed PTT as normal to reply.

The KyARNG VHF users at the Greenvillesite had additional options because aNetworkFirst Interoperability Gateway wascollocated with the VHF repeater. Undernormal operation, the repeater emits a sin-gle CTCSS tone to VHF subscribers at thatsite. For the demonstration, two additionalCTCSS tones were programmed into theDVU, repeater, and radios at the Greenvillesite. The two additional tones were associ-ated with two NetworkFirst talkgroups.

The KyARNG users at the Greenville siterotated their radio’s position knob to selectthe desired interoperability talkgroup.Their radios were programmed with thetwo additional CTCSS tones for positionknob locations #2 and #3 to match the two additional CTCSS tones in theGreenville repeater.When the user pushedPTT, the DVU at the Greenville site convert-ed the CTCSS tone corresponding to thatradio knob position to the correctNetworkFirst talkgroup.

Call scenariosFive interoperability scenarios were demon-strated. In each case, the NetworkFirstoperation was transparent to the end user.

11

NetworkFirst providedthe first voice interop-

erability ever demon-strated among these

federal, state, and localradio systems.

KENTUCKY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENTConsole Switch

KENTUCKY STATE POLICEConsole Switch

4 Wire Audio4 Wire AudioGREENVILLE, KY

Kentucky ArmyNational Guard

IP NetworkNetworkFirstNetwork Switching Center

NetworkFirstInteroperability Gateway

WHF Control Station

IP Voice Packets

IP Voice Packets

4 Wire Audio

Microwave toMayfield VHF Site

Microwave toPikesville VHF Site

FRANKFORT Fire DeptVHF Repeater

FRANKFORT Fire DeptVHF Portable Radio


The agencies’ radio sys-tems continued to oper-ate as normal. In everycase, NetworkFirst provid-ed interoperability capa-bility the agencies did nothave before.1. Kentucky State Police

Dispatcher with Frankfort FireDepartmentThe KYSP dispatcher selected the cor-rect tone on the console module to com-municate with the Frankfort Fire Depart-ment. The Fire Department user pressedPTT to reply directly to the dispatcher.

2. Kentucky State Police Dispatcherwith Kentucky Army NationalGuard Dispatcher and KentuckyDepartment of EmergencyManagement TechnicianIn this test, the KYSP dispatcher selecteda different tone to talk with the KyEMEOC dispatcher in Frankfort. The KyEMdispatcher heard the call and selectedthe correct tone to reply.The Frankfort KyEM dispatcher thenpatched the KyEM Pikeville location intohis console module. An EMT technicianpressed PTT and spoke at the Pikevillesite, and his voice was heard 165 milesaway in Frankfort by the KyARNG dis-patcher and KYSP dispatcher. The KyEMdispatcher then patched the MayfieldEMT location into his console moduleand successfully repeated the test.

3. VoIP Across KyARNG IP NetworkThe KyEM EOC in Frankfort has a widearea IP connection over the KyARNGnetwork to the KyARNG Range Control

12

location in Greenville, 175miles away. NetworkFirstprovided the first VoIPcommunications everdemonstrated across theKentucky Army NationalGuard radio system.The KyEM EOC dispatcher

in Frankfort selected a console moduleand directly communicated with aNational Guardsman with a VHF radio atthe Greenville site. The voice traffic wasdigitized and packetized by a DVU inFrankfort, transported as IP packetsacross the National Guard IP network toGreenville, and was converted back toaudio by a DVU collocated with the VHFrepeater in Greenville.

4. Kentucky State Police Dispatcherto Kentucky Army National GuardOfficer across IP NetworkKyARNG VHF radio users at the Greenvillelocation usually leave their radio at posi-tion #1 because there is one CTCSS toneused at the Greenville VHF repeater.NetworkFirst enabled the same VHFrepeater to carry additional channelguard tones. Two NetworkFirst talk-groups were programmed for the twoadditional channel guard tones pro-grammed into the VHF repeater and VHFradios. To ensure that the demonstra-tion did not affect normal KyARNGcommunications, which occurred atradio position knob #1, the KyARNGuser turned his radio position knob toposition #2, which was programmed toemit a channel guard tone correspond-

equipment was fully deployed and the demonstration was con-ducted within one week.

• Interoperability “On-Demand”: Dispatchers and field person-nel enjoy interoperability on-demand with their own equipmentwith NetworkFirst.

• Scalability: This NetworkFirst demonstration utilized assetshundreds of miles apart across the Commonwealth of Kentucky.NetworkFirst’s packet-switching architecture makes a systemthat can be scaled to connect literally millions of users.

• Availability: All the NetworkFirst capability shown in the demon-stration and more is available TODAY.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky demonstration highlighted manyof the benefits of NetworkFirst:

• Connectivity: NetworkFirst provided voice interoperability amonghistorically independent Federal, State, and Local systems.

• Investment Protection: The participants enjoyed interoper-ability using their existing radio systems, consoles, and radiosconnected by NetworkFirst. NetworkFirst provides interoperabil-ity without a forklift, protecting customer investment in theirLMR systems.

• Interoperability NOW: NetworkFirst provides interoperabilityquickly. With excellent support from the agencies, the NetworkFirst

The Benefits of NetworkFirst

NetworkFirst enables dispatchers and field personnel to indepen-dently initiate interoper-ability calls and selectwhom they want to communicate with.

continued on page 16

‹

NetworkFirst providedthe first VoIP communi-cation ever demonstrat-ed across the Kentucky

Army National Guardradio system.

Q: What does NetworkFirst consist of?

A: A typical NetworkFirst installation consists of an IP-based switch and a num-ber of interoperability gateways that con-vert the existing voice communications to IP format and link it to the switch.NetworkFirst is not a radio system. It is a secure, private IP network solution thatuses off-the-shelf routers and servers toprovide seamless, immediate voice inter-operability across all bands (frequencies)and with all brands. In many ways it canbe likened to a LAN or WAN, or to the way e-mail is sent and received – mes-sages can be sent and read from any computer to any other computer, regard-less of whether the receiver has an HP

or a Macintosh or an IBM. It’s the samewith NetworkFirst.

Q: What would a typical installation look like?

A: For public safety interoperability, a typical configuration consists of a singleNetwork Switching Center (NSC) within a state or wide geographical area, andgateways – plug-in cards – for everyagency that wants to be part of the inter-operability network. Off-the-shelf, stan-dards-based routers and servers completethe hardware components. BecauseNetworkFirst is an IP network solutionand not a radio system, no new radioequipment is required. Users rely entirelyon their existing radio infrastructure andindividual radios.

NETW

ORKF

IRST

UPDA

TE Frequently Asked Questionsabout NetworkFirst

NetworkFirst connects legacy systems on a pri-vate, secure IP backbone. A Network Switching Center(NSC) connects legacy state, local and federal agencies throughIP gateways. There is virtually no limit to the number of switchesand states or federal agencies that may share in the network.

Typical NetworkFirstIP Backbone

M/A-COM'S INTEROPERABILITY SOLUTION FOR FIRST RESPONDERS HAS GENERAT-ED SO MUCH INTEREST WE THOUGHT IT WAS TIME TO PRESENT A CONCISEOVERVIEW OF THE QUESTIONS WE GET ASKED MOST FREQUENTLY. CHECK OUT THEWWW.NETWORKFIRST.COM WEB SITE FOR MORE IN-DEPTH INFORMATION.

13


Q: Does NetworkFirst require speciallyequipped vehicles to be sent to the scene of an emergency?

A: No. It’s important to note thatNetworkFirst is a fixed network available24 X 7 for both crisis and consequencemanagement. Once the system is in place it is immediately available to anyagency with a dedicated gateway card.It is easily and seamlessly used for rou-tine interoperability scenarios such asmulti-jurisdictional responses includingtraffic accidents, high-speed chases andHAZMAT incidents.

Q: How would NetworkFirst affect my existingradio system?

A: NetworkFirst has no effect on legacysystems apart from providing seamlessvoice interoperability whenever calledupon. It does not increase overhead orconsume existing resources. Your existingsystem will retain all of its original charac-teristics and behavior, integrity and con-trol. It is, however, completely compatiblewith any new additions or changes youmay make in the future.

Q: Does NetworkFirst really work with allother vendor’s equipment?

A: NetworkFirst works seamlessly on any band, with any brand, regardless oftrunked, conventional, analog or digitaloperation.

Q: How much does it cost?

A: It will vary with each state and thenumber of NSCs required, which is usu-ally only one. For example, Illinois hasapproximately 2,500 agencies statewide,so their cost would include one NSC forthe state and a gateway for each agencylocation, plus associated routers, serversand software. The cost to implementNetworkFirst in a state such as Illinois istypically about ten percent of what itwould cost to replace every radio systemand all radios in the state. NetworkFirstprovides cross-band interoperability andaccess to any communications networkthe state already has so no new radioequipment is required.

Q: Can one NSC really cover an entire state?

A: Yes. Think of it as being similar to the

Internet in that regard, only it is privateand secure. You are in fact buying yourown private intranet for an entire state or region.

Q: Would I ever need a second NSC?

A: Probably not for capacity alone. Even a state with twenty times the number ofagencies as Illinois would be unlikely toexceed the capacity of a single NSC.However, there may be instances when itwould be more cost effective to have twoor more switches. If the state is very largegeographically, the connections (typicallysub-T1 lines) from each agency to a singleNSC might be very long. In this instance,two switches located far apart and tiedtogether with a single T1 line may bemore cost effective. Additional switchesalso reduce the bandwidth requirementson the links between the various gatewaysites and their assigned switch.

Q: Can I connect to other states?

A: Yes. There are no technical issues thatwould prevent states from internetwork-ing. The only questions are political andorganizational. If the political will exists,the network could be expanded regionallyor even nationwide. This would be partic-ularly useful where multi-jurisdictionalresponses along state lines are common.It is a question of planning and coordina-tion, and no different from the coordina-tion that is required now for statewide 9-1-1 systems.

Q: From an operational standpoint, what’s thebiggest difference between NetworkFirst andother interoperability solutions?

A: Because NetworkFirst is a networksolution, it is always available, wheneverand wherever you need it. Unlike solu-tions that require physical connectivity,such as dispatch involvement or mobileequipment, NetworkFirst connections arevirtual, allowing for seamless interoper-ability. During any incident, the radio usersimply turns to a prearranged channel andcommunicates with the predefined talkgroup. And, because NetworkFirst com-munications are network-based, theyalways remain under the control of theexisting command structure to avoid con-fusion. It is also flexible and completelyseamless to the users in the field. n


14

About 300 troops from the KentuckyArmy National Guard maintainedsecurity and crowd control for the129th running of the Kentucky Derbyon May 3, 2003. M/A-COM loanedover 100 radios and other equipmentto augment the Guard’s voice com-munications during the event.

A jubilant crowd of more than 138,000 attended the 129th running of the his-

toric Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downson May 3, 2003. As has become common-place for major public events held in theU.S. in recent years, security at the famousrace track was extremely tight. A localnewspaper even ran an article entitled the“Second Annual Derby Security Quiz” onthe day of the event in a quasi-humorousattempt to convey necessary informationabout what race fans could expect when

Security for Kentucky Derbyaided by M/A-COM radios

they arrived at the track. The article’sintroduction tells the story:“Like last year, when security wasincreased because of the Sept. 11, 2001, ter-rorist attacks, everyone entering the trackwill be searched with magnetic wands.The process went rather smoothly andquickly last year, Downs officials said, butbe prepared for backups at peak times.”– Courier-Journal (Louisville), May 3, 2003.

Because of the heightened securitylevel, the track did not allow race-goers

IN TH

E NEW

S

Photo: AP/Wide World

15


16


to bring their own coolers, thermoses, bar-beque grills, backpacks, duffel bags or even umbrellas. A number of local publicsafety organizations were involved in theevent, with primary responsibility forcrowd control and security assigned to the Kentucky Army National Guard(KyARNG), which has been fulfilling thattask for over two decades.

The size of the event required a largenumber of troops to be drawn fromKyARNG units across the state. However,most of these troops had no radios oftheir own. Chief Warrant Officer DavidBarker, communications plans managerwith the KyARNG, explains the need:

“In 2002 we used about 400 radios,with 300 borrowed from the IRS. Thisyear the IRS radios weren’t available,which left us with only 100 radios of ourown. Even though our numbers werereduced to about 300 personnel becauseof activations due to the war in Iraq, wewere short over 100 radios. Since this wasa problem that had to be corrected, wesearched for support from several venders.M/ACOM was more than generous andagreed to supply the support we needed.”

Radios, technical assistance provided“We loaned over $70,000 worth of equip-ment, including 100 radios, a repeater andan antenna network to the KyARNG forthe event,” says System Sales Manager MikeEngelhaupt. “We also programmed the

radios on the specific frequencies used,and provided technical assistance duringthe installation of the network.”

Security for the event went off withouta hitch, and Barker gratefully acknowl-edges the added level of communicationsthe M/A-COM radios provided. “We werevery grateful to M/A-COM for loaning usthe radios and related equipment. Withthe current focus on homeland securityfor large public events, good radio commu-ni-cations are essential. We appreciate thehelp and cooperation companies such asM/A-COM can provide organizations likeourselves as we strive to improve andextend our voice communications. The job is only going to get tougher, but withwilling partners, we’ll continue to satisfac-torily complete our mission.”

Engelhaupt agrees that public safetyand other groups such as the KentuckyANG are under increasing pressure to pro-vide the added security measures that arebeing required in the wake of 9/11.However, he was quick to add that, espe-cially in this unique instance, M/A-COMwas happy to lend a hand. “The need forcoordinated voice communications amongmany different agencies is clear. The pub-lic needs to know that their police andother public safety groups, the “firstresponders” to any emergency, can effec-tively communicate with each other.We’re pleased to be able to provide what-ever help we can,” he says. n

We appreciate the helpand cooperation compa-nies such as M/A-COMcan provide to organiza-tions like ourselves aswe strive to improve and extend our voicecommunications.”CW3 David Barker

ing to the talkgroup,“InteropA”.The Kentucky State Police dispatcherselected a tone on the module and spokedirectly to the National Guardsman in Greenville on talkgroup “InteropA”.Leaving his VHF radio at position #2,the National Guardsman pressed PTTand replied directly to the KYSP dis-patcher in Frankfort.

5. Kentucky State Police Dispatcherto Frankfort Fire Department andKentucky Army National Guard The final interoperability scenario involvedthe KyARNG dispatcher at Frankfort, theKyARNG Greenville VHF site, and theFrankfort Fire Department field user.The Greenville National Guardsmanchanged his radio position knob to

the #3 position to participate in thiscall. This knob position correspondedto the CTCSS tone for the talkgroup,“InteropB” at the Greenville VHFrepeater. The KyEM dispatcher inFrankfort initiated the call with the cor-rect tone, which was received by theFrankfort Fire Department radio and byNational Guardsman in Greenville. TheFrankfort Fire Department user thenreplied and was heard by both theKyEM dispatcher in Frankfort and theNational Guardsman in Greenville.

Thanks to Shawn Lefebre, M/A-COM SystemSolutions Engineer and Craig Fitzsimmons,M/A-COM Senior Sales Support Engineer fortheir contributions to this article. n

“

Federal, state and local interoperability in Kentuckycontinued from page 12

The versatile P5100 is a cost effective radiochoice for the public service community. Itcombines their requirement for reliable com-munications with a robust feature set.Features include:• EDACS, ProVoice, P25IP digital and con-

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P5100 portable

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M/A-COM extends IPofferingsand introduces P25IP Digital

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Now federal, state and local public safetyradio users who need to migrate their sys-tems have more choices then ever in theirselection of a P25 digital trunked system.M/A-COM’s P25IP Digital Trunked Radio sys-tem offers:• End-to-end IP for scalability and im-

proved reliability and fault tolerance.

• P25IP clear and encrypted voice, dataand over-the-air rekeying.

• 12.5 kHz narrowband operation and compatibility with current line of M/A-COM P25IP radios through soft-ware upgrades.

• Operation in both digital and analogconventional modes for easier migration.

Bringing the power of OpenSky IP to thehighly regarded C3 MaestroTM gives usersthe ability to cross-share the functionali-ties of both dynamic technologies. Thenew console offers:• Advanced features such as receiving status

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• P25IP.

With a lightweight and robust physical pack-age similar to the latest EDACS, ProVoice,Conventional and P25IP portables, the P7200series demonstrates the power and flexibilityof M/A-COM’s software-defined radios. TheP7200 series provides:• Multimode operation for OpenSky, P25IP

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JOINING OPENSKY AND EDACS PRODUCTS ARE FOUR NEW OFFERINGS THAT ENHANCEM/A-COM’S IP NETWORKS FOR CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS. JUST AS IMPORTANT ISTHE INTRODUCTION OF M/A-COM’S P25IP DIGITAL TRUNKED RADIO SYSTEM FOR NAR-ROWBAND VHF AND UHF USERS. HERE’S A BRIEF RUNDOWN ON THESE NEW OFFERINGS.

LOOK FOR MORE DETAILS IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF CHANNELS.

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Art: Phillip Radcliffe

Third and Fourth Quarter Schedule2003Make training a number-one priority for supervisory personnel, users and

maintenance staff. Call 1-434-455-9469 for complete information on ourschedule and to find out more about class availability.

M/A

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MTr

aini

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ente

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Introduction to Trunked System MaintenanceAug. 11 – Aug. 22 • Oct. 20 – Oct. 31

Trunked System AdministrationJul. 28 – Aug. 1 • Oct. 27 – Oct. 31

Communications Systems DirectorAug. 25 – Aug. 27 • Nov. 3 – Nov. 5

Jaguar™ 700P & Jaguar 725M Radio MaintenanceDec. 8 – Dec. 12

Trunked System Master TechnicianSep. 22 – Sep. 26

MASTR® III Station MaintenanceAug. 4 – Aug. 8 • Oct.13 – Oct. 17

RF Test & TroubleshootingNov. 3 – Nov. 7

System Management WorkshopNov. 17 – Nov. 21

Orion™ & EDACS® 500M Radio MaintenanceSep. 15 – Sep. 19

LPE™ & M-RK™ Radio MaintenanceSep. 8 – Sep. 12

Advanced RF FundamentalsNov. 10 – Nov. 14

Mobile Data on Trunked SystemsOct. 6 – Oct. 15

Analog & Digital VotingOct. 6 – Oct. 8

Simulcast System MaintenanceSep. 30 – Oct. 3

Michigan County purchases UHF EDACS networkIngham County, Mich., has signed a contract withM/A-COM to provide a 4-site, 10-channel UHFEDACS trunked radio network to serve 24 countyagencies, including police, fire, and EMS. Initialimplementation will consist of analog voicemobiles and portables, with possible futureupgrade to full digital in the future. The countywill also be purchasing dispatch consoles for twocounty dispatch centers.The system is expected tobe on line in late summer, 2004.

Massachusetts Bay Transit Auth. Selects ProVoice On June 27, 2003, the Massachusetts Bay trans-portation Authority (MBTA), signed a contract withM/A-COM to install a new 800 MHz integratedvoice and data communications network. The net-work will link MBTA personnel, including MBTApolice, supervisors, bus and subway operators.Theproject will include engineering design and imple-mentation support as well as a 20-channel ProVoicedigital simulcast system, mobile and portableradios, and a sophisticated computer-aided dis-patch and automatic vehicle location system. Thenetwork is scheduled for completion in 2004.

Implementing the EDACS Security KeyOct. 1 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Configuring the SitePro ControllerNov. 18 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Configuring ProScan OperationDec. 9 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Configuring ProVoice OperationSep. 16 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Configuring a Conventional InterfaceSep. 30 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Online Training Class ScheduleOperating the C3 Maestro Dispatch ConsoleOct. 2 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Configuring the C3 Maestro Dispatch Console with UDS Aug 5 and Nov. 13 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Configuring Reports on the CSDSep. 9 and Dec. 2 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Backing Up & Retrieving CSD Activity and DatabaseRecords Sep. 11 and Dec. 4 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Aligning the MASTR III Station System Module using SIMONE & MASTRUTLNov. 20 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

news bites

Product and service names used in this publication aretrademarks or registered trademarks. Other products orservices are trademarks of their respective owners.

M/A-COM P.O. BOX 2000

LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 24501 U.S.A.

PHONE: + 1 434 455 6600

FAX: +1 434 455 6656

www.macom-wireless.com

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