Motorola Public Safety Command Central

Just had a group of customers from Latin America in the booth. They were looking for a solution to improve the congestion within their police vehicle. They were impressed by the Motorola MW810 and the installation demonstrated by the Los Angeles Police Department’s on-display vehicle. Not only does the MW810’s 3-piece design offer flexible options for mounting and usage, but it also allows efficient fleet management in managing hardware issues, spare supplies, and system upgrades. LAPD officers also discussed how the newest MW810 can be leveraged to directly interface to the Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) system in the vehicle, providing even more productivity out of the in-field officer, while providing additional return on investment from their in-car computer investment. Of course, the integrated ALPR support also eliminates one more “box” in the vehicle, which h...

Good news involving DHS and smart cards. DHS has teamed with the Office of National Capital Region Coordination in a First Responder Partnership Initiative.  This program is advocating a first responder ID card, called FRAC (First Responder Authentication Card). FRAC leverages the new federal standard FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) 201-compliant credential card for use in emergency response coordination efforts. The smart card will allow software in rugged handled PDAs/computers gain access to backend server information when available. In cases where a connection to a server is not available a local verification of the user’s credentials can be verified through the use of secure PIN, photo verification, and fingerprint. The FRAC card would have very similar functions that have already been standardized by other smart card standards such as Transportation Worker Ident...

To meet the migration needs of public safety agencies, Motorola’s SmartX migration solution allows the gradual migration from an existing SmartZone system to an ASTRO 25 integrated voice and data network. The SmartX solution provides an ASTRO 25 core that supports both Project 25 sites and SmartZone remote sites allowing a mix of P25 and SmartZone radios to operate on the network.This exciting new migration path enables agencies to benefit from ASTRO 25 capabilities sooner, and then gradually expand, upgrade or replace RF sites, consoles and subscribers to ASTRO 25. SmartX migration can get you started sooner with a manageable, phased approach to achieving P25 interoperability.

The O9 program is an extension of the next generation control head program, which currently consists of O3 and O5 control heads for the APX 7500 mobile.  The O9 will be positioned as the highest tier control head on this platform. The O9 redefines the role, function, and features of control head technology. With programmable controls, the O9 replaces several communication and warning functions into a single button press – for safer and more efficient operation.   What radio platforms does it work on?   The O9 integrated control head was designed for the APX 7500 mobile only.  It operates with both the mid-power and high-power transceivers.   What are the key benefits of the control head?   The APX 7500 O9 integrated control head combines the functionality of two mobile radios, a siren public address control and light bar controller, reducing the amount of equipment in the vehicl...

 As technology within radio communications systems has evolved, the role of software and Information Technology (IT) components has grown.  As a result, management of the Motorola radio networks used by many government agencies has been steadily shifting toward the agencies’ Information Technology departments.  Motorola’s expanded portfolio of solutions, including Mobile Computing, Wireless Broadband, and Advanced Services, rely even more heavily on IT/computing foundations.  As a result, Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility Solutions team has been working towards extending its relationships with government public safety into government information technology, including IT leaders such as Chief Information Officers (CIOs).  We have pleased with initial response from our outreach efforts, as many Government CIOs have been impressed to learn how Motorola’s solutions can e...

Recently Motorola’s Wireless Broadband Portfolio connected Franklin County, VA – a 721 square mile area for a total county investment of $83,000 from the general fund and a $50,000 federal grant (less than 24% of the projected cost).With a large land area, dispersed population, and limited funds, Franklin County looked for a way to cost effectively meet the broadband demands of its residents, as well as reduce county operational costs. Taking an innovative and highly creative approach, Franklin County worked with local landowners, partnered with B2X (a small, local ISP), and leveraged grant funding to expand broadband services throughout the area. Using existing tower sites and working with landowners to gain access to place additional towers on private property in exchange for reduced service fees, Franklin County enabled a network design that provided wireless connectivity from 18...

Last year at APCO, Motorola announced APX, the industry’s first Project 25 (P25) multi-band (700/800 MHz and VHF) subscriber family.  Last week, APX was shipped to its first customer, Harris County, Texas and received some great feedback  after they participated in the development of the product and now they are using APX in the field. Steve Jennings, Harris County CIO pointed out, “Motorola has always made rugged handheld radios. With APX, the company went a step further to include its dual microphone technology that removes background noise for clearer transmission from dispatchers. It is extremely well designed for first responders. It’s an impressive piece of equipment.” APX was designed specifically for first responders by applying the science of High Velocity Human Factors (HVHF), the dual-sided portable radio provides optimal functionality and loud and clear audio ...

Sponsored by IDSA and BusinessWeek, the 2009 International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) competition selected Motorola’s APX™ 7000 Portable Radio to receive a Silver in the Commercial & Industrial Design category. Recognized for its innovative and exciting product design, APX is applauded for its double-sided functionality, ease of use, superior audio quality and ability to reduce background noise in harsh environments. Since its introduction in August 2008, APX has been recognized by the design community with a number of award recognitions, including the iF Product Design Award and the Australian International Design Award. In addition, the electrical design teams behind APX were collectively named “Design Team of the Year” in the EE Times’ Annual Creativity in Electronics (ACE) Awards. Read about APX’s winning design at Businessweek.com Visit IDSA’s website for a full l...