Dubbed Guardian, Solacom's system enables public safety agencies to convert its network from legacy voice to Internet Protocol to receive data, such as text messages and video. The system is hosted on one central system, allowing each agency the ability to determine how its calls are routed and handled.
The system was launched in three Florida counties in July, according to Robert Cassidy, Solacom's manager of marketing and communications. He added that there is legislation being drafted in some U.S. states that would require emergency services to use an Internet Protocol network.
"Funding for public safety, as well as everything else, is in a crunch. More and more of these public safety agencies are pressed to do more with less," he said. "Hosting, where a number of counties will get together and pool their resources to buy the latest equipment ... it lowers the cost."
Although this collaborative approach is becoming a trend, Mr. Cassidy said that emergency services are reluctant to follow, fearing a lack of control over its operations.
"It is an opportunity to showcase this aspect of our system that is becoming more critical with the funding situation," he said.
The company would not disclose the terms of the deal.
Solacom builds communications systems for military command, security, and other critical applications. The company also deployed the system to a consortium of 15 counties in Southern Illinois, which is expected to be operational early this year.
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