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First responders
Whether it is a routine incident or a catastrophe such as an act of terrorism or natural disaster, multiple agencies must respond to the situation and work together.
Today more than 60,000 local, state, and federal agencies have first response roles. Yet their communications equipment operates on different frequencies and operating modes. This often prevents them from sharing vital information that is critical to saving lives, protecting resources, and recovering quickly from an emergency.
A major barrier to true interoperability for these agencies has been the prohibitive costs of new communications equipment. Now BAE Systems provides the cost-effective solution.
The First InterComm device, also called the vehicle communications assembly (VCA), is small enough (8.625” x 8.625” x 2.5”) to be conveniently mounted inside first responder vehicles. Once installed, the VCA relies on vehicle power.
When another vehicle equipped with a First InterComm VCA arrives at the scene, the system automatically creates a temporary mesh network, or an incident-area network (IAN), which enables interoperability. Once tuned to the IAN, each device automatically becomes a node in that mesh network.
When a first responder transmits a radio message, the agency’s First InterComm device receives the RF signal, converts it to a digital signal, and relays it across the mesh network. Every other First InterComm device at the scene then converts the digital message to its designated radio frequency and broadcasts it to its users. First InterComm's routing algorithms direct transmissions along the optimum route for the best service quality.
That’s all there is to it—instant voice interoperability.
First InterComm devices initially provide a “one-to-many” communications link. The First InterComm talk-group software, running on a Windows® based PC, can be used to provide situational awareness and establish talk groups as required among responding agencies. The incident commander can also establish one-to-one communication channels as required, while monitoring any or all talk groups. This talk-group flexibility is transparent to the responders, and eliminates distracting background chatter.
