Avtec announces ScoutLink to provide flexible dispatching options

LAS VEGAS—Avtec this week announced at IWCE its upcoming release of ScoutLink, which lets off-the-shelf IP devices access the Scout dispatching console platform at a cost than is lower than the price of a full Scout console position.

Kevin Williams, Avtec’s vice president of product development, said the company’s IP-based Scout solution remains the best option for dedicated dispatchers in an organization, but the flexible ScoutLink offering will let others leverage the power of the Scout platform for less cost.

“It’s a very simple way to start, and it leverages all of the infrastructure and the capabilities of Scout and VPGate, all of the different types of radio devices and technologies that we connect to, and the redundancy,” Williams said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “Everything is there as an infrastructure, but the piece that the dispatcher uses is a lower-end solution functionality. But, in some of these cases—like an emergency dispatch situation or a mobile command vehicle—it can be a powerful solution.

“From an IT perspective, it’s going to be all of the same things they’re used to configuring, if they have a Scout back in a main office somewhere. They’re going to be familiar with all of these tools; they’re going to see the same core of Scout, with the ScoutLink providing a different interface for the dispatcher.”

ScoutLink can serve as a complementary dispatch solution for some organizations by leveraging IP networks to extend their systems, Williams said.

“Your dedicated dispatchers—your power users—are always going to have your full console,” he said. “But you can now, using your IP network, extend that access out to other places in the organization.

“For instance, you have guard houses at airports, where they’re shuttling pilots across different places. There’s a mechanics shed that the mechanics will call to get a special tool. Somebody in that shed could have a mini SIP console and somebody in that guard house could have a mini SIP console. But, in the main airport, they’re going to use full-blown Avtec Scout positions to dispatch for their main operations.”

Available in the second quarter, ScoutLink will launch with a Mini SIP Console from Essential Trading Systems that will be sold and supported by Avtec, according to an Avtec press release.