The City of Beaverton, Oregon is installing a transportable radio system to link their emergency operations center to local and regional responders during disasters and large-scale incidents
PORTLAND, Ore. — National Interop, Inc. announced today it is installing a transportable radio console system for the City of Beaverton’s Emergency Management program to bolster the communications capabilities the City requires in disasters and large-scale emergencies. “Reliable and effective communications are essential to minimizing the loss of life and property during disasters,” said Michael Mumaw, Emergency Manager.
The City receives its 911 services and public safety communications from the Washington County Consolidated Communications Agency (WCCCA), a ORS 190 organization that provides these services to all of Washington County. The City also uses a number of other communication systems for other City functions including Public Works. Based on prior experiences the City’s Emergency Management Program identified the need to increase the interoperability between the various communications platforms and establish a backup communications capability.
National Interop helped Beaverton design a system that would meet its needs: multiple radio consoles in the city’s emergency operations center (“EOC”), the ability to patch or bridge incompatible radio channels together in an emergency, and to record radio transmissions for training purposes. Beaverton also specified that the new solution needed to be completely transportable so that it could be used in nearly any facility and also in the police department’s mobile command post vehicle.
National Interop recommended that Radio over IP (RoIP) technology be used inside the new transportable system, since it uses standard off-the-shelf computers which are readily available in disasters, compared to specialized radio equipment from proprietary manufacturers. “Radio over IP isn’t always appropriate, but in this case it was the perfect solution,” said David Billstrom, CEO of National Interop, “and it kept the cost within the city’s highly constrained budget. This is tremendous bang for the buck.”
About National Interop
National Interop, Inc. serves public safety agencies by providing tactical and permanent communications systems. The company’s staff includes current and former public safety first responders, VoIP, RoIP and network experts, land mobile radio technicians, and system analysts and designers.
The company offers consultation, construction and training services and creates communication systems that are flexible, economical, and scalable. National Interop, Inc. is privately held with offices in Seattle, Wash. and Portland, Ore. Additional information is available at www.nationalinterop.com.