Cisco Systems Monday unveiled a forthcoming product lineup that aims to use IP to unite disparate two-way radio communications systems used by public safety, security, military and enterprise customers and tie them in with other devices.
Cisco’s IP Interoperability and Collaboration Systems (IPICS) technology essentially connects UHF, VHF, push-to-talk and legacy military radio networks using VoIP, said Charles Giancarlo, chief development officer at Cisco, during a launch event in New York.
In addition to communicating with each other, radio users can also tie to a variety of IP applications, including voice, video and data, as well as traditional phones and IP-based clients such as IP phones and IM clients, he said.
“We can bring in the information that’s contextual to the event at hand,” Giancarlo said.
The result should be improved first-response efforts to a variety of emergencies, from hurricanes to bank robberies, he said.