News
Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile arms Charlotte, NC, police with more information to fight crime
Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile, Bedminster, NJ, and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC, Police Department are equipping the local police fleet with cellular digital packet data (CDPD).
Laptop computers using Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile AirBridge CDPD service will be installed in more than 460 Charlotte-Mecklenburg police vehicles, including patrol cars, mobile command post, SWAT van, crime scene vans, patrol boats and the canine unit vehicles. The service will provide officers in the field with nearly instantaneous wireless access to information before they approach a vehicle, house or suspect, allowing them to make critical decisions that will enhance their own safety as well as that of the community.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg will be the second-largest public safety application of CDPD technology in the nation. The system will give officers access to local, state and national law enforcement databases to retrieve complete motor vehicle records, criminal warrants, police reports, GIS and other information in seconds.
The software, which is being provided by Cerulean Technology, Marlborough, MA, allows officers to connect to national, state and federal databases, police information systems, the National Crime Information Computer (NCIC) and the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles.
The mobile computer systems will also increase the security of police department communications. Messages are encrypted by both the software and the CDPD network to prevent unauthorized reception.
Metrocall, ProNet announce merger Metrocall, Alexandria, VA, and ProNet, Dallas, have signed a merger agreement. ProNet would merge into Metrocall, creating a paging company with more than 4 million subscribers. Metrocall is issuing 0.9 shares of Metrocall common stock for each share of ProNet common stock. ProNet is appointing three directors to Metrocall’s board, including ProNet’s current chairman, Jackie Kimzey.
Glenayre receives volume purchase agreement from Celpage Glenayre Technologies, Charlotte, NC, has signed a two-year volume purchase agreement valued at more than $7 million with Celpage, a private paging provider for Puerto Rico.
Through the agreement, Celpage will purchase Glenayre’s advanced high-speed paging infrastructure, including the GL-3930 Operator Assisted Paging system, GL3000 wireless messaging switches, GL-C2000 control system and GL-T8501 and 8601 transmitters. Glenayre’s system will provide Celpage with the capabilities for alphanumeric paging, as well as a simple migration path to two-way paging in the future.
AAT Communications opens multi-user Las Vegas facility AAT Communications has completed its first multi-user monopole to improve wireless coverage in the Las Vegas market. The monopole accommodates users of PCS, cellular, ESMR and paging (two-way and receiving). This is the first of many monopoles AAT will be constructing in the Las Vegas business trading area (BTA) during the next few months.
Miami to host Latin America telecommunications trade show Miami will host TelecomLatina, a new trade show for the international telecommunications industry. The conference and exhibition will take place Oct. 14-16, 1998, at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
More than 150 international manufacturers and distributors will display the latest technology in wireless communications including two-way radio and trunking, cellular, PCS, TV and satellite broadcasting and other technologies included in the “information superhighway.” Three days of sessions and tutorials are being offered, and the show organizer, a division of the company that owns MRT, expects more than 2,000 attendees.
Prior to the show, a one-day seminar, “Telecommunications in Latin America,” will be offered to help U.S. exporters.
Motorola forms systems management business Motorola’s Land Mobile Products Sector, Schaumburg, IL, has launched a new business that will provide comprehensive systems management support for both the wireless and wired systems that comprise sophisticated two-way communication networks.
The business brings together the communications systems experience of the sector’s radio systems division and the service of its United States and Canada service division, to support its customers’ communications networks, as well as information technology. The multitechnology systems management approach will support customer communications systems including all communications equipment used in conjunction with two-way radio systems through a broad range of consulting, planning and technical services.
El Paso Energy, a Houston-based natural gas pipeline operator, has contracted with Motorola to provide systems management support for its wireless communications system that extends across the continental United States.
Motorola specifically will support all of El Paso Energy’s mobile and portable radios, manage its spare radio inventory, dispatch technical support services as necessary nationwide, and manage the reporting process El Paso and Motorola will use to gauge overall system performance.
Geotek provides Hilton with guest check-in, airport transport service Geotek Communications, Montvale, NJ, is providing Hilton hotels with a mobile check-in service that allows travelers to check into their hotel upon boarding the Newark Airport Hilton shuttle van. Geotek’s systems integration subsidiary, GMSI, developed Hilton’s new Mobile Zip-In by implementing Geotek’s wireless network service, mobile workstation and GMSI’s automatic vehicle locator (AVL).
Geotek’s network and services allow the Hilton shuttle to operate as a remote check-in desk. The service includes an in-vehicle card swipe for advanced check-in and constant communication with the hotel using an integrated mobile workstation. The hotel can locate and monitor all vehicles through integrated AVL software to ensure an efficient dispatching and pickup service. The service also includes emergency response capability.
Geotek’s hardware and software is currently installed in all seven of the Newark shuttle vans. Geotek and Hilton are exploring plans to expand the program.
