Linking 2 way radios with IP phones

Recording capabilities for Cisco IPICS successfully deployed in Mobile Command Van for Matanuska-Susitna, Alaska linking two-way radios to IP phones.

PLANO, Texas — Cistera Networks®, a leading provider of enterprise application platforms and engines for Internet Protocol (IP) Communications, has successfully completed the first deployment of its award-winning Cistera ConvergenceServer™ with an LMRConnectIT application engine specifically designed for the Cisco IP Interoperability and Collaboration System (IPICS) 2.0. The deployment is in a Mobile Command Van that supports first responders and emergency communicators in the Alaska borough of Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su).

The van was initially outfitted with Cisco IPICS 2.0, which links two-way radios to an IP communications environment. Now, with the addition of recording and monitoring capabilities delivered by LMRConnectIT, Mat-Su area first responders have a comprehensive solution that provides interoperable recording, monitoring and playback capabilities for all IP communications.

“Recording capability is now a must-have feature for all emergency communications,” said Dennis Brodigan, director of emergency services for Matanuska-Susitna, Alaska. “The added recording functionality provided by LMRConnectIT really improves our workflow both during an emergency and after the fact – when we would need to provide a documented analysis of the event for quality assurance, legal and training purposes.”

The borough of Mat-Su is located in south central Alaska, and is the fastest growing area in the state. It boasts a population of 80,000 in an area that is roughly the size of the state of West Virginia. The federally funded Mat-Su Borough Mobile Command Van is available to multiple agencies including local fire, police and emergency medical services (EMS) as well as the Division of Forestry, and serves as a forward command post during borough-wide emergencies, drills and large-crowd events.

“Mat-Su’s challenge in supporting tactical emergencies and operations, like many agencies, creates the need to have a flexible, easy-to-use, mobile incident command and control solution. IP-based open standards and platforms not only provide cost effective public safety communications interoperability between agencies using disparate radio communications systems, and technologies but also enable easier integration of rich multi-vendor applications,” said Mark Wiedick, vice president and general manager of Cisco’s safety and security systems business unit. “We are pleased that Mat-Su selected Cisco IPICS to allow for integration with value-added applications, like Cistera’s LMRConnectIT, to provide an integrated emergency communications solution for telephony, IP and unified communications, and radio communications.”

With the deployment of Cistera’s LMRConnectIT to support Cisco IPICS, Mat-Su first responders and emergency communicators now have the ability to record and audit key conversations on the network. First responders and emergency communicators often want an LMR recording solution because it:

— Creates an audit trail for all IP communications: In the event an evidentiary process is required following an emergency, an archived conversation can be easily retrieved and played back. Frequently, in order for a local area to receive federal funding following a disaster or emergency, documented recordings of all conversations must be provided.

— Serves as a valuable training resource: By reviewing archived conversations, emergency communicators can assess their responsiveness and efficiency to past incidents so they can better prepare response teams for future events.

Cisco IPICS supports networks and technologies that are important to Mat-Su and other first-responder agencies for mobile command and control – such as satellite communications, wireless networks, radio networks, cellular networks and telephone networks – and provides a “network of networks” with an interoperability solution.

In addition, LMRConnectIT – the only recording solution specifically designed for Cisco IPICS – is delivered on the Cistera ConvergenceServer, and is a component of Cistera’s Quality Assurance and Compliance (QAC) solution set for hosted and enterprise communications. Currently, LMRConnectIT provides the capability to record and archive all IP communications in timed increments for simple retrieval.

“The ability to record and archive emergency communications is vital in all cases, including IP communications environments that utilize two-way radios,” said Derek Downs, president and CEO of Cistera Networks. “We are pleased with our first LMRConnectIT deployment and look forward to providing the application engine to first responders and other emergency organizations, whether that’s within existing Cisco IPICS environments or as part of a new Cisco IPICS deployment.”

About Cistera Networks, Inc.
Cistera Networks is a leading provider of enterprise communications platforms and services. The company blends powerful application infrastructure with industry-specific business processes, to deliver the benefits of voice, video and data convergence to the user. Cistera’s industry-leading platform delivers the most reliable, scalable and secure application services for IP-based network environments. Its broad portfolio of application services enables users to improve customer service and satisfaction, increase productivity and collaboration, improve responsiveness to critical incidents and to provide a safer environment.

Based on open standards and a proven server technology foundation, the award-winning Cistera ConvergenceServer™ has a single unified administration which delivers the lowest total cost of ownership in the industry. It enables customers to create robust and scalable environments that are flexible enough to adapt to their changing needs by scaling up to support from fewer than one hundred to thousands of users, and scaling out to support multiple sites, making it ideal for a broad range of organizations.

This release may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements that are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding future events and the future financial performance of Cistera Networks that involve risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Cistera Networks with the SEC, specifically the most recent reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q, each as it may be amended from time to time, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.