UPDATE
C4i’s continues to demonstrate its commitment to meeting customer needs by integrating Tetra communications technology to its award-winning SwitchplusIPcommunications systems. Tetra is a viable alternative to P25 and DMR; and due to the number of entities that provide subscriber equipment, it can lead to lower-cost solutions.
C4i’s SwitchplusIP VoIP system will provide seamless interoperable communications to users of various analog and digital communications devices, including a Tetra digital radio system from DAMM, conventional analog radios, mobile phones, intercoms and other telephony. Additionally, the system will provide Unit ID, status, messaging and position information gained from the Tetra radio handsets to provide geographical location of assets in the field on the operator consoles. SwitchplusIP is ideally suited to this type of complex, geographically distributed application.
In July 2011, C4i welcomed an upgrade of their interoperable communications system with the release of SwitchplusIP Version 9.0. This version is endowed with many great new features, in addition to the usual reliable functionality expected from C4i.
As part of C4i’s commitment to incorporate new technologies into the SwitchplusIP baseline, the engineering team has been working on further advancing and refining console interactions with digital radio networks. The real advancement of Release 9.0 stems from the introduction of the P25 interface for Command Center LT and Mobile-Dismount platforms. This signals C4i’s continued commitment to embracing P25 standards which are currently being adopted worldwide. The new interface will allow mobile users to access multiple P25 radio networks without connectivity to a base station, i.e. direct radio-to-radio or console-to-radio communication. Moving towards this new standard in Public Safety allows C4i to maintain high technology standards within the industry.
The other main improvement of Release 9.0 is derived from the inclusion of a Radio Interface Unit Processor Upgrade; providing increased performance for Command Center LT and Mobile-Dismount applications. The primary benefit for users is faster access to the database for configuration, which means quicker response time. Additionally, users will have the ability to perform remote software upgrades and automatically receive system updates. This feature was deemed necessary due to the increased number of recent projects encompassing a distributed systems design.
On a final note, C4i would like to reiterate that its specifically designed mission critical product, SwitchplusIP, continues to support network redundancy at every end-point. This capability was incorporated into C4i’s system network from the time of its initial market release approximately three (3) years ago. This feature reduces fail over time, ensuring reliability of the critical applications our products are continually used to support. Network redundancy assures no loss of service within the IP network infrastructure due to a single point of failure. Network redundancy has always been a standard feature provided with the SwitchplusIP system.