Quick Links

Mobile Security Industry News

[January 14, 2013]

Pike County PSAP Moves to New Solacom Equipped Facility Days Before Sandy Storm Hit

Chicago, IL, Jan 14, 2013 (PRWeb.com via COMTEX) -- After moving into a new public safety complex in Lords Valley PA just 18 days before Hurricane Sandy struck, Pike County 9-1-1 had to hunker down and trust the recently installed Solacom next generation 9-1-1 system to function flawlessly as they responded to a month's worth of 9-1-1 calls in the two and a half days that the superstorm raged over the county.

"For being here for such a short amount of time and just getting used to the new equipment, we were really pressed into action" said Bernie Swartwood, director of the public safety answering point (PSAP). "There were no glitches, the Solacom equipment just went right along with the call volume and everything went really well in the 9-1-1 call center." Mark O'Brien, Dispatcher Supervisor at Pike County 9-1-1, was also on duty during Hurricane Sandy and added "the system held up extraordinarily well, we had no issues whatsoever with any type of phone outages or anything like that on our end." Solacom, in partnership with its reseller and service provider AK Associates, deployed the Guardian NG9-1-1 Controller in a geo-diverse configuration with host locations at in the old Pike County 9-1-1 center in Milford PA, and the new location 16 miles away in Lords Valley. The two sites are linked via fiber optic cables that carry emergency and administrative calls, as well as data such as mapping and Computer Aided Dispatch. The system design allows either of the host locations to handle the 9-1-1 calls and 9-1-1 positions if they are cut off due to a network disruption.

The PSAPs are equipped with the Guardian intelligent workstation (IWS) user-interface that provides state-of-the-art 9-1-1 functionality for the public safety telecommunicators. Guardian IWS provides call control functionality not seen before in any product, for example operators have complete control of each participant of the call allowing them to create private conversations or mute out disruptive participants. Operators can also join two separate calls together dynamically allowing parties who call into the system on separate lines to communicate real-time. Guardian IWS will also provide compatibility with text messaging services expected to be available in 2014 as recently announced by the FCC.

"The Solacom system, including the Guardian workstations, is designed to migrate to a fully i3 compliant system as the NENA next generation 9-1-1 standards are implemented by the public safety industry," said Tom Kraus, Executive VP at AK Associates.

O'Brien helps manage the new system. "It is very user friendly in regards to administrative aspects where I can make a lot of the changes on the fly, very quick and very easy to do - there is no down time, it's an immediate change." AK Associates and Solacom technicians were on site to install and cutover the new system and work through all on-site testing. Tony Parrott, vice president of sales at Solacom, also credits the smooth deployment to a greater focus on testing and quality review to prove systems before they leave the factory floor. "We have increased verification of the equipment before it ships and this has been paying off in terms of quicker and easier cutover at the customer site," said Parrott.

About AK Associates AK Associates is a full 9-1-1 service provider, who takes pride in creating customized solutions to fit the unique needs of their customers. They have vast experience creating, installing and maintaining stand-alone systems, regional networks, as well as working with hosted solutions. AK Associates has customers throughout the country and their technicians are dedicated strictly to 9-1-1. They are a forward thinking company that works with their customers. For more information please visit http://www.akassociates911.com About Solacom Solacom Technologies builds some of the world's most reliable critical communications systems that integrate Voice, Video and Data to deliver advanced IP-based interoperability solutions for public safety 9-1-1, military command, security and other mission critical applications. With a legacy of innovation in air traffic control and public safety, our engineers have pioneered many industry advances over the past 25 years. For more information visit http://www.solacom.com Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/1/prweb10316201.htm PRWeb.com

[ Back To Mobile Security Homepage's Homepage ]

Request a Demo

Weekly Demonstration: SAP Mobile Secure
Solution including SAP Afaria Cloud

Free 30-day Trial

Best MDM in the cloud. Best MDM
Analytics. Best MDM price.

Featured Whitepapers

What Is Your Mobile Content Policy? A Checklist for Content Risk Mitigation
We are living in a world that only 20 years ago was the realm of science fiction. Devices once just barely imaginable have become common consumer items, carried casually in pockets and purses, with constantly growing capabilities.

SAP Enterprise Mobility: Bringing a Cohesive Approach to a Complex Market
Mobility and consumerization are creating complexity in the enterprise, but embracing the change can lead to more productive mobile workers as well as better communications with employees, partners, customers, and consumers. The trends in the enterprise mobility landscape drive a need for technology solutions to emerge.

View All

Featured Datasheets

Securing Enterprise Mobility for Greater Competitive Advantage
We are living in a world that only 20 years ago was the realm of science fiction. Devices once just barely imaginable have become common consumer items, carried casually in pockets and purses, with constantly growing capabilities.

Secure Mobile Content Management for the Enterprise
Every day employees move business files onto their mobile devices so they can work at home, on the road, or at client sites. The mobile workforce is a reality, as 80% of employees say they need to access work documents from outside the office.1 Instead of insecure, consumer-based tools, enterprises need a safe, reliable platform for managing content on mobile devices.

View All

Featured Webinar

Mobile Drives Field Service Productivity at Satellites Unlimited
Field service has never been more competitive or faster changing than it is today. Going mobile is a must to stay ahead of the competition, provide improved services, and keep up with ever-increasing customer expectations.

View All

Featured Webcast

End to End Mobility Requirements: IDC and SAP explore the 3rd Platform
A new IDC study states that we're in the midst of a shift that takes place once every 20 - 25 years - introducing a new technology platform that will inspire growth and innovation for enterprises of all sizes. IDC calls it the 3rd Platform - built on mobile devices and apps, cloud services, mobile broadband networks, "Big Data", analytics, and social technologies.

View All

Featured On-Demand Webinar

Analyst Webcast: Secure Content Management in a Mobile Age
Securing and managing content is taking on new importance as organizations try to cope with the explosion of business-oriented file sharing services while at the same time taking advantage of the proliferation of "smart" mobile devices.

View All