News Briefs – Thursday, April 6, 2006
Florida sheriffs’ offices receive tactical wireless surveillance systems
Viasys Network Services will outfit five Florida sheriffs’ offices with tactical wireless surveillance systems. The portable systems feature wide-angle and high-resolution cameras that connect over-the-air to wireless gateways. The systems capture onsite activity and then transmit the live feed in real-time to network monitors, who dispatch personnel and equipment accordingly.
Brookline, Mass., gets border-to-border wireless network
MobilePro and Galaxy Internet Services have been retained by the town of Brookline, Mass.’s Wireless Selection Committee to design, deploy and operate a border-to-border wireless network. The multi-spectrum (2.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz and 4.9 GHz), multi-radio, mesh network will enable public safety, government and commercial applications on a single infrastructure. The deployment would be the first mixed-use network using an integrated public safety access channel (4.9 GHz) in the state, according to the company. The network will support a range of fixed and mobile applications, including police data communications, VoIP and Internet access.
Medical center deploys crisis management system
University Medical Center in Las Vegas installed Prepared Response’s Rapid Responder, a wireless crisis management system used to assist police, fire and other first responders during emergency situations. The system runs on laptop computers and mobile data terminals and offers access to 300 data points, including tactical response plans, satellite and geospatial information, exterior and interior photos, floor plans, utility shut-off locations and hazardous chemical inventories and locations, the company said.
Next generation software solution to support multiple standards
Vanu and BitWave jointly announced they would develop a series of next generation software radio solutions for wireless infrastructure and mobile devices by combining Vanu’s Anywave base station with the BitWave Softransceiver IC.
The Anywave is the first multi-mode software base station subsystem consisting of a base transceiver station and base station controller that runs on standard computer platforms. It supports simultaneous operation of multiple existing wireless standards, such as GSM, iDEN and CDMA. The Softransceiver IC supports multiple wireless standards over a wide range of RF spectrum.
The integration will enable carriers to deliver flexible, low-cost and high-performance next generation software radio infrastructure and devices, the companies said in a joint company statement.
HD mesh system offers remote video and data applications
Trango Broadband Wirelessannounced a high-speed HD mesh system configurable for remote video and data applications. The system can operate across multiple frequency bands, including the 4.9 GHz band allocated by the FCC for public-safety broadband wireless communications, and the 5.3 GHz, 5.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz unlicensed bands. It can be used for security-related applications, including nuclear power plants, airports, port districts, military bases, water treatment facilities and railroads, according to the company.
The system supports WiMAX-ready radios and 802.11g for WiFi hotspots, and includes support for Layer 3 functionality such as QoS, VLAN, NAT, DHCP and PPPoE, as well as OSPF and BGP self-healing routing protocols, the company said.