LOWELL, Mass., Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- M/A-COM, Inc., a business unit of Tyco Electronics and a worldwide leader of critical radio communications systems, today announced that its trunked P25IP (P25 to the power of IP) radio communications system, including its NetworkFirst interoperability solution, has been fully deployed in the National Capital Region (NCR) by the Army's Director of Information Management (DOIM). The P25 system is Phase I of the NCR project and will link more than 5,000 Federal personnel and up to 58 public safety agencies in and around the NCR.
The NCR system is the first completely operational Department of Defense (DoD) Land Mobile Radio (LMR) IP-based P25 system to serve the U.S. Army. NCR Phase I provides interoperable mission-critical voice communications with civilian public safety agencies in the NCR, including greater Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and Fort Hamilton, NY.
The deployment of NCR Phase II, also known as Joint NCR, will add the U.S. Navy (Naval District Washington, the Naval Academy, among others) along with the U.S. Air Force (Bolling Air Force Base, among others) to the NCR regional system. NCR Phase II, expected to be completed by the end of 2006, will provide seamless wide-area communications and convoy operations over a large footprint, and is one of the first tri-service DoD LMR systems.
M/A-COM's digital P25IP radio communications system combines the P25 air link standard with the power of IP packet technology in a trunked voice and data communications system. In addition, this IP-based system provides interoperable communications via NetworkFirst, M/A-COM's network solution that interconnects existing radio communications systems for interoperability for both routine and emergency needs. The system also will deploy the latest Federal standard of Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) for secure communications, coupled with OTAR (Over-the-air-rekeying).
"Our P25IP system provides all of the advantages of a trunked system, including full compatibility with other P25 users, but at a lower cost than traditional trunked options," said Kevin Fleming, Federal Sales director, M/A- COM. "P25IP, coupled with NetworkFirst, offers the best of both worlds for Federal users because it provides P25 interoperability and also connects any legacy radios, on any frequency, from any manufacturer. This system meets many of the same requirements as the upcoming nationwide federal wireless communications system, called the Integrated Wireless Network (IWN), including open architecture, multiple procurement options and a low total cost of ownership for 20 Federal Law Enforcement agencies from Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Treasury."
The NCR Phase I deployment covers 10 Army bases, including the Pentagon, Fort Belvoir, Fort Myer, Fort McNair, Fort Meade, Fort Hamilton, Fort Detrick, Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) and Fort A.P. Hill.
