DANIELS AND CATALYST DEMONSTRATE P25 DIGITAL WIRELINE CONNECTIVITY

 

Victoria, B.C. Canada - April 6, 2005– Daniels Electronics Ltd., a leading supplier of high reliability radio base stations and repeaters for remote public safety applications, today announced it has developed and demonstrated with Catalyst Communications Technologies, a leading provider of IP based dispatch solutions to the public safety mobile radio market, an open P25 digital interface between the two companies’ products. This integrated solution will offer additional functionality and enhanced features to P25 users of Daniels and Catalyst products.

P25 (Project 25) is a public safety standard for digital wireless communications defined by the Association for Public Safety Communication Officials (www.apcointl.org). These standards enable users to communicate with other agencies and mutual aid response teams in emergencies, for the safety and security of communities across North America and the world.

The Daniels digital Universal Interface card (UIC), provides a digital Ethernet connection from the Daniels MT-4 P25 radio system to other LMR subsystems in a P25 network. In accordance with the TIA APCO P25 general system model, this interface interconnects the Fixed Station (Daniels Radio) to a Console or RF subsystem at the Ef connection. The new Universal interface will provide Daniels customers with access to all of the Daniels P25 base station’s signals through an Ethernet interface. This interface provides digital audio, new features and greater connectivity between P25 subsystems.

Catalyst has introduced IP|25D™, a Gateway software solution that provides digital audio to the Daniels MT-4 base station through an Ethernet interface. This development is designed to be compliant with the Ef interface of the project 25 Systems Interface model. Users control and communicate with Daniels MT-4 P25 base stations with the UIC interface card to P25 portable radio users through a simple Windows based user interface on their PC. Through this interface, users can select the desired MT-4 or other attached radio and channel that they wish to communicate with and “Push to Talk” though a simple mouse or foot pedal click.

“Our demonstration of the Daniels Universal Interface Card working with Catalyst’s Gateway is tangible proof of an open digital interface between P25 vendors that will allow Daniels customers, such as the federal agencies of the US Government, to benefit from increased functionality and intercommunication of their radio infrastructure,” said Robert Small, Chief Operating Officer with Daniels Electronics. “All of our customers have been expressing interest in an all digital network and we are very pleased to now have this capability in conjunction with Catalyst.”

“The collaborative development effort with Daniels has gone very well and it shows how industry leaders working together can bring value to the land mobile radio marketplace.” said Robin Grier, president of Catalyst. “We have worked with Daniels in the past for the United States Forest Service, ensuring solutions that are compatible with the radios they have deployed in their networks. This new P25 digital wireline capability represents the latest generation of digital technology and is consistent with the direction of the Forest service to deploy the latest P25 technology.”

Catalyst was recently awarded a US Department of Agriculture Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) award to develop and optimize the physical and network protocol set for the control of P25 radios for dispatch and interoperability. Working with Daniels, this research and development effort will culminate in a set of control and feature capabilities that are greater than Catalyst’s current interface to Daniels MT-4 P25 family of modular digital base station radios. The initial installation of the joint capabilities is expected by early summer in the George Washington / Thomas Jefferson National forest in southwest Virginia.

Daniels MT-4 Digital P25 Radio systems are known for their reliability, high performance and customizability. The customizability is due to the modular construction of the transmitters, receivers and associated modules, which are designed for a variety of frequency bands from 29 - 960 MHz. This modularity allows the custom configuration of radio systems to meet users’ specific applications such as base, repeater and crossband systems. The collaborative effort with Catalyst, using their Voice over IP and IP Control technologies, has further enhanced the flexibility of Daniels radios and added new functionality.

 

About Catalyst Communications Technologies

Catalyst Communications Technologies, Inc. www.catcomtec.com creates, markets, supports, and produces Voice over IP dispatch technology for the Mobile Radio industry. The company leads the effort to bring Internet derived technologies into mobile radio applications, focusing on products that leverage standard Intel-based computers to reduce cost and increase the efficiency of network operators and end users. Its IP Radio™, IP Fleet™, IPTone™ and Network Access Radio™ products enhance existing dispatch communications systems, bridging wireless and wireline communications networks, and IP Link™ provides network based Interoperability to connect different radio systems using the IP network.

 

About Daniels Electronics Ltd.

Daniels Electronics Ltd. is a North American leader in the design and manufacture of customized radio communications systems for specialized applications. For the past 50 years Daniels has provided our customers in North America and internationally with highly reliable base stations, repeaters and paging equipment that is environmentally robust and operates in rugged and extreme temperature conditions where low current consumption is a key requirement.

The Daniels MT-4D Digital P25 Base Station is available to all Daniels customers via our existing contracts including GSA, WSCA, US Forest Service, US Department of Interior, US Department of Treasury and Department of Homeland Security.

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