C4i launches portable version of SwitchplusIP
C4i has introduced yet another iteration of its SwitchplusIP dispatch command-and-control system, this time a battery-powered portable version that is contained in a militarized transit case that can be mounted in a command vehicle or hand-carried to wherever it is needed. The portability gives emergency-response agencies valuable flexibility, according to Dave Alonzi, the company’s business-development manager.
“For instance, from the vehicle they could set up an IP connection back to the main communications center and operate it as a remote console, or as a completely standalone system in the event that the main dispatch center has gone offline for some reason,” Alonzi said.
In addition to the emergencies that public safety typically handles, the portable system is ideal for very large special events — such as music festivals, political conventions, economic summits and sporting events — that require on-site dispatch communications, Alonzi said.
He added that the system is radio agnostic and simple to use. “You basically take the lid off, take the back panel off, turn on the battery power, start it up and it’s running,” Alonzi said. “It’s plug-and-play.”
In June, the company introduced version 9 of the SwitchplusIP platform, which features a new interface that lets mobile users access Project 25 networks without connectivity to a base station. In addition, this version lets users perform software upgrades and automatically receive system updates.
Last month C4i announced that it had developed a customized, weather-resistant mobile incident response trailer for an Australian transit organization that incorporated the SwitchplusIP system. It can be towed to the site of an emergency to act as a communications hub to deliver radio-to-radio and radio-to-telephony communications, the company said.