Achievements in support of Public Safety Radio Communications Demonstrated at the Catalyst Booth # 1409
APCO 2021, San Antonio, Texas – August 15, 2021
Catalyst once again will demonstrate some of the most advanced technology in support of Public Safety Communications available anywhere when first responders, dispatchers, and other public safety professionals descend on San Antonio for APCO 2021 this week.
Among the leading technology on display is Catalyst’s IntelliLink™ Interworking, now deployed in field trials and providing communications between portable radio users and smartphones with standards-compliant Mission Critical Push to Talk applications. This advanced Interworking solution maps multiple talk groups on LTE Networks and LMR Networks to each other and provides advanced communications capabilities, including a public safety caliber dispatch console that displays unit ID, Emergency Indication, and Location for both LMR and LTE subscribers; capabilities that are not available in voice only RoIP solutions.
Competing RoIP solutions typically only provide a basic analog interface between LMR radios and LTE Networks that cannot even detect whether the attached donor radio is turned on and operating. In contrast, the Catalyst IntelliLink™ Interworking solution interfaces with a wide variety of standards-based as well as proprietary LMR radio systems, providing advanced control of these networks through Catalyst’s Radio Control over Internet Protocol technology. Catalyst technology is even aware of the Radio Status of many of these networks and, if busy, IntelliLink™ Interworking can store the audio until the radio channel is free, key up the radio automatically and transmit the call, so that no syllables or words are lost during the communications. Catalyst technology also records all the communications including meta data like Unit ID from both LMR and LTE networks for later playback and review. Catalyst LMR radio interfaces include P25 CSSI/ISSI, P25 DFSI, DMR AIS, as well as intelligent interfaces to radios such as L3Harris and Kenwood. Catalyst can, of course, also provide legacy Tone and DC control solutions common to older radio systems.
Research and development of the IntelliLink™ Interworking suite of capabilities was initially funded through a contract with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate. More recently, however, Catalyst was awarded a three million dollar grant to commercialize this technology from the Department of Commerce (DOC) Public Safety Communications Research Division (PSCR), a Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Location Aware from LTE Devices: InterLoc™ support for Smartphones with 3GPP Compliant Mission Critical Push to Talk Applications
New for APCO 2021 is the announcement that InterLoc™, Catalyst’s location services for mission critical radio networks, now acquires and presents the GPS location of individuals with MCPTT applications on Smartphones connected to these LTE networks. Maps display and differentiate between various LMR and LTE users with distinctive graphics The InterLoc™ system from Catalyst is unique because it does not require expensive map licensing or cellular data charges for LMR devices, making the system very cost-effective compared to typical AVL solutions. InterLoc™ is seamlessly integrated with Catalyst’s Dispatch and Interoperability solutions, and Dispatchers can initiate text and voice communications to individual users directly from the map. Maps can display subscriber status (such as Emergency), and Dispatchers can center the map on any resource with the click of a mouse. Multiple maps, and multiple types of maps, can be simultaneously displayed, and a robust tool-kit provides map customizations that help Dispatchers to better manage critical communications resources.
ICE™ – Catalyst’s Transportable Incident Command solution to support the new L3Harris XL-200M mobile radio
At APCO Catalyst will also demonstrate its Incident Commander Element – ICE™, a transportable radio communications solution that packages two to four mobile radios, Radio Control Software, Dispatch Software, and Interoperability Software into a single unit. What’s new is the launching of support for and integration with the L3Harris XL-200M mobile radio. On the APCO show floor, Catalyst will demonstrate advanced control of this new mobile with its dispatch console. This versatile new radio from L3Harris operates across the VHF, UHF, 700/800 and 900 MHz bands, and comes standard with Wi-Fi(r), Bluetooth (r) and GPS.
ICE™ is receiving strong market acceptance. When Firefighters enter a burning building, they often choose “direct mode,” as in-building coverage may be limited. However, these communications have traditionally not been routed back to the Dispatcher, hampering coordination. ICE™ relays the in-building direct mode communications back to the Dispatcher and provides a number of valuable ancillary capabilities including Incident Command, recorded audio conversations, and on-scene logging of unit IDs and Emergency messages.
Innovations in Hardware Platforms – Catalyst Go Kits
Dispatchers sometimes need to move from their primary Dispatch facilities and continue critical Dispatch operations. Some typical scenarios are:
- Covid – 19
- Mold Removal from the Building
- Fire, Water or other Damage
Introducing Go Kits, a transportable Dispatch solution. A component of the Catalyst Dispatch Solutions family, Go Kits augment your existing Catalyst Dispatch System with a low cost, easily deployed backup for emergencies when Dispatchers need to relocate.
Go Kits include computer hardware, accessories for a fully functional dispatch position, and a hardened enclosure. Propulsion™ Dispatch Software can be optionally added as can Cradlepoint Wireless Wide Area Network technology. Transmitting over LTE, Go Kits can be located anywhere in LTE cellular coverage and can connect to Catalyst Gateways through a variety of backhaul solutions.
Visit Catalyst at APCO 2021 at Booth 1409 to see Go Kits, ICE™, the L3Harris XL-200M, Interloc™ Location Services now with LTE Smartphone tracking, IntelliLink™ Interworking and other innovations from the leader in Dispatch, Interoperability, Interworking and Incident Command for the critical communications marketplace.
