Cassidian Communications, which will provide the digital, trunked Project 25 (P25) Land Mobile Radio (LMR) infrastructure for the project, reports that the new consolidated network will “cover the entire 496 square-kilometer territory of Montréal, and will support more than 4,500 police officers, close to 2,000 firefighters, and over 2,000 public works personnel.”

Avtec’s P25 consoles run on Internet Protocol (IP) networks, and are fully integrated with Cassidian Communication’s P25-compliant COR^P25 radio system. “Partnering with Avtec allows us to provide a reliable end-to-end communications system for the city of Montréal,” said Cassidian Communications’ Product Line Manager, Bill Book. “We look forward to working with Avtec on this important project.”

“Using P25 standards and pure IP dispatching consoles will allow first responders to collaborate and communicate with other public safety networks, including the Montréal-Trudeau International Airport and the Montréal Metro systems,” said Avtec President Michael Branning. “Selecting a system based on open standards gives the city of Montréal the ability to lower the total cost of ownership while implementing a leading-edge communications solution.”

About The City Of Montréal Agglomeration Council (ville.montreal.qc.ca)
The agglomeration council, which came into existence on January 1, 2006, is headed by the mayor of Montréal and consists of 30 elected officials representing all the municipalities on the island of Montréal, specifically: the mayor of Montréal, 15 members of Montréal’s city council, 14 mayors of reconstituted municipalities.

About Cassidian Communications (www.CassidianCommunications.com)
As a most trusted source of mission-critical communications solutions, Cassidian Communications, an EADS North America company, is leading the way in standards-based NG9-1-1 call center applications, emergency notification solutions and services and P25 land mobile radio systems. Cassidian Communications is headquartered in Temecula, Calif., with facilities located in Richardson, Texas, Franklin, Tenn., and Gatineau, Quebec.

About Avtec, Inc. (www.avtecinc.com)
Avtec, Inc. provides pure Internet Protocol (IP) dispatch console solutions for the public safety, transportation, utility, business, and government markets. For more than 30 years, customers have chosen Avtec’s award-winning technology for their mission-critical dispatch centers. There are thousands of Scout ™ Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) consoles installed worldwide.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Lorri-Ann Carter
Tel: 803-779-4005 ext. 2040
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“We are pleased to receive this STEP grant from the Department of Commerce,” said Avtec CEO Michael Branning. “As a company that originated and has remained headquartered in South Carolina, Avtec is proud to represent the state on a global stage.”

The company will use STEP funding to participate in the Radio Comms Connect Australia 2013 trade show in Melbourne in November, where the world’s leading communications companies will be represented. The trade show will provide Avtec the opportunity to meet and network with a number of these companies.

Commerce receives funding for the STEP program from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Last year, 35 companies benefited from the program and realized more than $1.6 million in confirmed export sales.

“Small businesses continue to play an important role in South Carolina’s economy, and the opportunity to reach world markets can greatly impact a small business’ ability to grow. We’ve been able to help smaller firms gain access to customers around the globe through our STEP program, and we look forward to Avtec’s success as the company expands its global reach,” said Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt.

Avtec is the leading provider of true Internet Protocol (IP) radio dispatching console systems in use across industries worldwide. “Avtec’s growth in this country and abroad has been steady, and our potential to expand globally is very real,” said Branning.

In addition to travel and trade show space in Australia, the STEP funds are providing export training, translation of materials, website development and advertisement for Avtec.

Last May, Avtec announced plans to expand in Lexington County with a $6.1 million investment and 25 new jobs. Its new 46,000 square-foot headquarters facility is slated for completion in June 2013. The company was recognized in 2012 as one of South Carolina’s 25 fastest growing companies in an annual competition sponsored by Capital Corporation investment bank, Scott and Company accountants, Columbia Business Monthly and Greenville Business Magazine.

About Avtec Inc.

Avtec Inc. provides pure Internet Protocol (IP) dispatch console solutions for the transportation, public safety, utility, business and industry, and government markets. For more than 30 years, customers have chosen Avtec’s award-winning technology for their mission-critical dispatch centers. There are thousands of Scout Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) consoles installed worldwide. Visit www.avtecinc.com to learn more.

About S.C. Department of Commerce

As South Carolina’s leading economic development agency, the Department of Commerce works to recruit new businesses and help existing businesses grow. Commerce won the Gold Shovel Award and the Project of Year Award from Area Development magazine in 2012. Also, the state was ranked first in attracting jobs through foreign investment by IBM-Plant Location International. Commerce has been part of recruiting world-class companies to South Carolina such as Boeing, Bridgestone, Continental, Monster.com, Heinz, ZF Group, BMW and Google Inc. Commerce also supports small and existing business, rural development initiatives and offers grants for community development. For more information, visit www.SCcommerce.com.

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Engineered and tested in partnership with Avtec, and designed to work with Avtec’s pure IP Scout™ dispatch solutions, the advanced console interfaces are compatible with Tait’s standards-based P25 Phase 2-upgradeable TN9400 and DMR Tier 3 TN9300 core networks.

“Organizations looking to achieve the best possible value from their communications solutions choose proven technology and equipment based on open standards,” says Ellery Hurn, Tait Partner Product Manager.

“Tait has a successful track record of providing open-standards solutions that deliver long-term value, choice and flexibility for clients through compatibility with a variety of vendors.

“By collaborating with other leading solutions providers such as Avtec, we seek to genuinely understand and support the critical outcomes that matter to our clients,” adds Mr Hurn.

Tait and Avtec are members of both the P25 Technology Interest Group (PTIG) and DMR Association, working together on the open interfaces that define the standards for interfacing with P25 and DMR standards-based networks.

Mike Ridge, Avtec’s Director of Product Marketing, says: “Customers want proven, trusted and reliable solutions, and with the Tait–Avtec partnership, that’s what they will receive. Our partnership with Tait Communications spans six years and several different radio technologies — each based upon open standards.

“Our long-standing collaboration has resulted in successful system installations in both the United States and abroad, representing clients in the public safety and utility sectors.”

With the TN9400 network at its core, Tait’s P25 solution provides both 12.5kHz P25 Phase 1 FDMA operation and a software upgrade path to 6.25kHz-equivalent P25 Phase 2 TDMA compliance. This means clients can control the transition to a more spectrally efficient solution with greater capacity — future-proofing their investment.

Tait P25 and DMR solutions allow organizations to minimize costs and increase return on investment while operating a highly resilient, mission-critical voice-and-data network.

By implementing a digital communication network based on open standards, organizations can avoid being locked in to a single vendor. As a result, they can leverage better value through multi-vendor solutions and be assured of interoperability with equipment and infrastructure sourced from other compliant suppliers.

“We’re thrilled to report record growth in sales of our Scout for MOTOTRBO console system,” said Avtec CEO Michael Branning. “The relationships we have built with partners such as Motorola Solutions have been key to meeting the technological challenges and communications needs of our clients.”

In partnership with Motorola Solutions, Avtec developed the direct IP wire-line interface between its Scout console system and multi-site digital trunked (Connect Plus) MOTOTRBO systems. Branning said Avtec is looking forward to new advances in the coming year. “Right now, we’re very focused and excited about bringing an interface to the MOTOTRBO Linked Capacity Plus radios in 2013.”

Avtec is a member of the MOTOTRBO Application Developer Program and has been recognized with a Certificate of Achievement from Motorola Solutions for its 2012 sales milestone.

“We are extremely pleased with these sales results,” said Darryl Stromberg, Avtec’s executive vice president for sales. “Avtec has earned its reputation for reliable products and service, and strong sales figures reflect that success.”

About Avtec, Inc.
Avtec, Inc. provides pure Internet Protocol (IP) dispatch console solutions for the transportation, public safety, utility, business & industry, and government markets. For more than 30 years, customers have chosen Avtec’s award-winning technology for their mission-critical dispatch centers. There are thousands of Scout Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) consoles installed worldwide. Visit www.avtecinc.com to learn more.

MOTOROLA, MOTOTRBO, and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other product and service names are the property of their registered owners. © Motorola, Inc. 2013.

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Gilbert, S.C. (March 14, 2013) – The Anderson County Emergency Services Division controls emergency communications across 780 square miles of mountainous terrain in the upstate region of South Carolina. Its service area includes more than 300 square miles of shoreline on Lake Hartwell — a major tourist attraction in the area — and supports the region’s nearly 200,000 residents. The call center answers more than 500,000 calls a year because of its proximity to the I-85 Corridor, the region’s terrain, and accidents on Lake Hartwell.

The Emergency Services team takes pride in “outside the box” thinking, most recently demonstrated by building a completely new E911 call center at no cost to taxpayers. After a lightning strike damaged most of their call center equipment, Anderson renovated the donated FAA Flight Service Center building using county employee labor and funded it via savings from open-standards based equipment such as Avtec’s Scout™ IP console system.

Having lived through a catastrophic lightning strike to their center, Anderson is taking steps to ensure the County always has a “Plan B”, all while watching costs carefully. A fully-equipped trailer, with generator, air conditioning, radio equipment, and an 8-position Scout dispatching system will be completed by summer. Once operational, it will support the ability to have a command center deployed, setup, and operational anywhere in the County within four hours.

“The real winners are the residents of Anderson County, who will soon have the additional security of a quickly-deployable emergency command center to ensure efficient emergency response,” said Captain Matthew Littleton. “The value of the products we received exceeded $100,000 and completely integrates with our existing Avtec Scout system.  We appreciate companies like Avtec that helped make this project possible and work to make the communities safer.”

“Avtec supports open standards because it gives customers choices both now, and in the future, lowering their total cost of ownership” said Avtec President Michael Branning. “That was a key reason for Anderson County’s choice of Scout for their new E911 center last year. Our newest product update, Scout 3.0, supports a range of dispatcher options, including one that can run on a laptop. This will allow Anderson’s staff to quickly set up an emergency command center in any location, yet still work with a familiar, efficient user interface. Besides the added security offered Anderson’s citizens, through mutual aid requests the equipment could easily be deployed anywhere in, or outside South Carolina to help communities in need. Avtec couldn’t be more proud to contribute our technology to support Anderson’s vision.”

About the Anderson County 911 Unified Emergency Communications Division

The Anderson County 911 Center operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is responsible for answering all 911 and non-emergency calls for the citizens of Anderson County, S.C. Call center personnel also dispatch police, sheriff, fire, and emergency medical services for the cities and communities of Anderson, Belton, Honea Path, Iva, Williamston and all rural areas of Anderson County. To learn more, visit www.andersoncountyes.com/911.

About Avtec Inc.
Avtec, Inc. provides pure Internet Protocol (IP) dispatch console solutions for the public safety,  transportation, utility, business, and government markets. For more than 30 years, customers have chosen Avtec’s award-winning technology for their mission-critical dispatch centers. There are thousands of Scout Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) consoles installed worldwide. Visit www.avtecinc.com to learn more.

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Hamblen County officials discussed the challenges they faced during the last 20 years, from the advent of 911 emergency services in the 1990s through the development of the consolidated call center that exists today. Situated in eastern Tennessee near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Hamblen County Emergency Communications Department serves nearly 63,000 people in the region. That number rises to 80,000 including people who come for work and recreation around Morristown, the county seat.

“Technical challenges to consolidation are greater than ever. Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) must continue to provide uninterrupted service during the entire process,” said Keri Losavio, editor of APCO’s Public Safety Communications magazine. For Hamblen County, Avtec has helped to address those technical challenges.

The Hamblen County 911 call center services a number of entities – the Morristown Police, Morristown Fire, Morristown Emergency Rescue Squad, Morristown Hamblen Emergency Medical Service, the Humane Society, Hamblen County Sheriff’s Department, all four of the county’s volunteer fire departments, and the Department of Emergency Management – and coordinates with the Walter State Community College Campus Police. Consolidation requires trust between departments, said Eric Carpenter, director of the Hamblen County Tennessee Emergency Communications District. “The 911 call center does not operate in a vacuum. We are tied to and dependent upon every one of the other participating agencies that we deal with.”

Like other organizations, Hamblen County emergency has navigated through a number of equipment upgrades, from analog to digital communications and through integration of separate communications systems among departments. To those challenges, add some significant geographic factors because Hamblen is “wedged into a little bowl” in the Tennessee Valley, said Carpenter. “Lots of hills and valleys have been a challenge for communications, both voice and data.”

The county evaluated several console providers before choosing Avtec, said Steve Peoples, senior technician and electronic shop supervisor for the city of Morristown, Tenn.  “Avtec worked best with what we had: some limited network facilities and some limited wireless facilities, and we had to make that work. Avtec was the one that performed best with our existing network. It also interfaces easily with the communications equipment we’re currently using.”

Avtec’s strengths – the capability to interoperate with different modes of communications technologies, reliability, and ease of use – have been integral to Hamblen County’s success. “I like the look of the Avtec consoles, and the icons and pads that you can build. They are very easy to use. We customized our Scout console screens to look like our former Orbacom screens, so the learning curve for our dispatchers was minimal. We’ve been very pleased with the service that we have received and continue to receive from Avtec,” said Peoples.

Avtec has a 30-year history of reliability to ensure emergency services maintain critical communications. “The Avtec VPGate system has redundancy, and we can use a Geo-Diverse backup on it, which we have down at our Emergency Operations Center (EOC) that protects us if this 911 center took a hit of any kind that put us out of commission,” said Peoples. In addition, the Avtec console can accommodate Hamblen County’s expansion needs. “If we want to build anything in the future, it’s easy for us to create any kind of screens we need on-site,” said Peoples.

“The Scout system is extremely versatile and easy to work with. I’m very, very happy with the choice that we made with the Avtec system. It has served us well now for eight months, and we’re sure we made the right choice,” said Peoples.

About Avtec, Inc.
Avtec, Inc. provides pure Internet Protocol (IP) dispatch console solutions for the transportation, public safety, utility, business, and government markets. For more than 30 years, customers have chosen Avtec’s award-winning technology for their mission-critical dispatch centers. There are thousands of Scout ™ Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) consoles installed worldwide. Visit www.avtecinc.com to learn more.

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The ongoing deployment at Norfolk Southern, one of the nation’s largest transporters of coal, steel, industrial products, and consumer goods, currently consists of 96 VoIP consoles at six divisional dispatch centers:  Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, PA, Dearborn, Mich., Fort Wayne, Ind., Decatur, IL, and Roanoke, VA.  The Atlanta Center is for central dispatch operations and the Tucker, GA, Center is a dedicated disaster recovery site and can assume the role of any divisional center in an emergency. Once the entire Norfolk Southern main-line dispatching operation is fully migrated, approximately 300 dispatchers will use Avtec Scout consoles to monitor and direct the railway’s traffic across 21 states, 24-hours a day, 365 days a year.

“Avtec offers the only proven IP-based console system that can scale and meet our requirements for WAN bandwidth efficiency. Scout is cost-effective and provides a digital solution end-to-end,” said Norfolk Southern’s Chief C&S Engineer, Brian Sykes.

Reliable Communications Keeps Workers Safe

Norfolk Southern selected the Scout console system to provide reliable voice communication from each distributed dispatch center to the furthest radio endpoint on its 20,000-mile railway system. “Keeping roadway workers safe is very important to us. Safety is one of our core values, so communications serve a mission-critical function in our operations,” said Norfolk Southern’s Manager of Communications Engineering, Will Danielsen.  “One hundred percent radio coverage and superior sound quality are essential in our line of work. This helps us keep our roadway workers safe and allows the entire Norfolk Southern team to focus on providing superior service to our customers.”

Simpler Network Configuration with Less Bandwidth  

Norfolk Southern will significantly reduce network complexity and bandwidth demands with Scout’s Frontier software, resulting in cost savings. “Avtec’s Frontier technology allows us to segregate voice IP traffic from our central dispatch in Atlanta to just the specific sites the dispatchers need to communicate with,” said Sykes. “With Frontier, we have instant access to any resource on demand, with minimal network bandwidth, and a much simplified network configuration.”

Since Scout consoles are paired with Frontier technology, dispatchers at neighboring divisional centers have access to the endpoints along the boundaries between the divisions.  It also allows dispatchers with system-wide functions in Atlanta to connect to any endpoint across all of the divisions.  All of these connections are provided without the use of multicast across the WAN and are very bandwidth efficient.  The Frontier-enabled Scout consoles will offer Norfolk Southern Any-to-Any™ capability.

Disaster Recovery and Ongoing Product Enhancements

Multi-layered disaster recovery and business continuity capabilities are part of the advanced technology built into the Avtec Scout console system architecture.  “Legacy console systems don’t provide sufficient disaster recovery options,” said Danielsen.  “New IP-based technology from Avtec offers multiple system design options that allows us to reduce legacy circuit costs and meet Norfolk Southern’s business continuity requirements. Furthermore, Avtec has lived up to their promises by regularly enhancing the Scout software, and their product roadmap for the next two years includes a number of innovations that we are very excited about.”

Using Scout consoles with Frontier technology, any site can be configured as a disaster recovery center for any other site.  In June 2012, Norfolk Southern conducted an unplanned test of its dedicated disaster recovery center when the air conditioners in its Atlanta operations center stopped working. Due to the extremely high temperatures in the center, the dispatchers relocated to the recovery site to run their daily operations until HVAC operation was restored in Atlanta.  “Everything worked seamlessly,” remarked Danielsen.

Avtec President Michael Branning said, “Norfolk Southern has earned its reputation as the ‘Thoroughbred of Transportation.’  We’re very proud of our 28-year association with this industry leader.  Reliable voice communications via radio is a safety-critical part of the railroad business.  Norfolk Southern was looking for a system that provides 24 x 365 availability and can be quickly reconfigured in extreme circumstances.  With the addition of our new Frontier software to Scout, we are preparing for the advanced capabilities necessary for enterprise command and control centers.”

About Frontier™

Avtec’s Frontier technology is an optional software license that connects multiple Scout dispatch systems using standard Ethernet networking infrastructure.  Frontier reduces network configuration complexity and bandwidth by automatically providing a unicast path between the Frontier gateways across the WAN, and gating audio packets to only those consoles with active endpoints.

About Norfolk Southern
Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the nation’s premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway Company subsidiary operates approximately 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers.  Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal, automotive, and industrial products.

About Avtec, Inc.

Avtec, Inc. provides pure Internet Protocol (IP) dispatch console solutions for the transportation, public safety, utility, business, and government markets. For more than 30 years, customers have chosen Avtec’s award-winning technology for their mission-critical dispatch centers. There are thousands of Scout ™ Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) consoles installed worldwide. Visit www.avtecinc.com

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Gilbert, S.C. (March 12, 2013) ─ Avtec and Etherstack are working together to enable four counties in southeastern Idaho to implement an open, standards-based, completely redundant and shared voice communication system for communicating with the counties’ Public Safety First Responders. Bonneville County, Idaho 911 was the first of the four counties to be successfully deployed, going live on March 1, 2013.

The Bonneville County 911 call center, which supports combined police, fire and emergency medical response, has deployed 10 Avtec Scout™ consoles in its newly renovated 911 dispatch center. In addition to the P25 CSSI wireline interface to the Etherstack system, Bonneville County increased redundancy by including 16 wireless mobile radio connections utilizing Scout’s Radio over IP Outpost gateways. The Outpost gateways support both primary and backup communications to ensure uninterrupted communications in the event of a disaster. The Bonneville County system has been configured for up to 60 simultaneous talkgroups, with provisioning to support failover and redundancy with the adjacent participating counties.

Avtec is at the leading edge of technology making open standards a reality. “Our project with Etherstack in Bonneville County shows the progress the industry has made in deploying systems based on open standards,” said Kevin Williams, vice president of product development at Avtec. “We are pleased to be a part of this project to ensure that these Idaho communities have continuous and reliable emergency communications.”

Etherstack has been providing support for the counties’ developing P25 infrastructure, which has utilized radio technology from various vendors. The four counties – Bonneville, Fremont, Jefferson, and Madison – are part of the Eastern Idaho Cooperative Agencies Wireless Interoperable Network (EICAWIN). As part of a completely distributed, network-based system, the multi-county deployment enables each county full interoperability with the state ICAWIN P25 Trunked Radio System. Access to each county’s channels for mutual aid support will support failover across counties in the event of disaster management situations.

The project in Idaho represents a first for Avtec and Etherstack. “Etherstack is committed to open standards and excited to be partnering with Avtec to implement this important solution in southeastern Idaho,” said Doug Chapman, Etherstack’s vice president of business development, North America.

The two companies are continuing to work together implementing the remaining counties into the P25 CSSI open standard infrastructure.

About Etherstack

Etherstack is a wireless technology company specializing in licensing mission critical radio technologies to equipment manufacturers and network operators around the globe. With a particular focus in the public safety, defense, utilities, transportation and resource sectors, Etherstack’s technology can be found in radio communications equipment used in the most demanding situations. The company has R&D facilities in London, Sydney, New York, Yokohama, Barcelona, Berlin and Singapore.

About Avtec, Inc.

Avtec, Inc. provides pure Internet Protocol (IP) dispatch console solutions for the public safety, transportation, utility, business, and government markets. For more than 30 years, customers have chosen Avtec’s award-winning technology for their mission-critical dispatch centers. There are thousands of Scout Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) consoles installed worldwide. Visit www.avtecinc.com to learn more.

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About CSX

CSX, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the nation’s leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company’s transportation network spans approximately 21,000 miles, with service to 23 eastern states, the District of Columbia and two Canadian provinces. CSX’s network connects more than 240 short line railroads and more than 70 ocean, river, and lake ports. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at www.csx.com.

About Avtec, Inc.
Headquartered in South Carolina, Avtec, Inc. provides Internet Protocol (IP) dispatch console solutions for the transportation, public safety, utility, business, and government markets. For more than 30 years, customers have chosen Avtec’s award-winning technology for their mission-critical dispatch centers. There are thousands of Scout Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) consoles installed worldwide. Visit www.avtecinc.com to learn more.

About the Anderson County 911 Unified Emergency Communications Division
The Anderson County 911 Center operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is responsible for answering all 911 and non-emergency calls for the citizens of Anderson County, S.C. Call center personnel also dispatch police, sheriff, fire, highway patrol, and emergency medical services for the cities and communities of Anderson, Belton, Honea Path, Iva, Williamston and all rural areas of Anderson County. To learn more, visit www.andersoncountyes.com/911 .

About Avtec, Inc.
Headquartered in South Carolina, Avtec, Inc. provides Internet Protocol (IP) dispatch console solutions for the public safety, transportation, utility, business and government markets. For more than 30 years, customers have chosen Avtec’s award-winning technology for their mission-critical dispatch centers. There are thousands of Scout Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) consoles installed worldwide. Visit www.avtecinc.com to learn more.

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Contact:
Lorri-Ann Carter
, CarterTodd & Associates

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803-779-4005 (Ext) 2040