Clarksburg, Md. – Thales Communications, Inc., a pioneer and global leader in the development, manufacture, and support of multiband, software-defined radio (SDR) equipment, announces its selection as an Industry Partner on the General Services Administration Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) for Land Mobile Radio (LMR) Equipment. The purpose of the BPA, which is in support of the U.S. Department of Interior, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Justice, is to obtain Project 25 (P25)-compliant1 LMR equipment.
In early 2008, Thales Communications introduced the first multiband, software-defined LMR for government agencies and first responders. The LibertyTM multiband LMR enables Federal, State, Local, and U.S. Department of Defense agencies to communicate across all of the public safety bands 136-174 MHz, 380-520 MHz, 700 MHz, and 800 MHz using a single portable radio. Operating modes include P25-conventional, P25-trunked, and legacy analog. The Liberty radio offers full encryption capabilities, including the Data Encryption Standard and Advanced Encryption Standard with Over-The-Air-Rekeying. Key features include a color-coded display screen, keypad programming, and more than 2,600 channels. The Liberty radio is size, weight, and performance equivalent to existing single-band portable LMRs, and its Mil-Spec metal housing is submersible to 2 meters.
Liberty multiband LMRs were in service at the January inauguration of President Obama. Used by communications command center personnel, the Liberty radio enhanced operations in Washington D.C. and the surrounding areas by linking multi-agency communications.
“We have been working closely with the first responder community in the development of the Liberty radio,” said Steve Nichols, Director of Homeland Security and Public Safety for Thales Communications. “The Liberty LMR, with a full product line of accessories, is a cost-efficient and scalable interoperability solution.”
Agencies and bureaus participating under this BPA (BPA GS-TFMG-BPA-09-0012), including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Forest Service, and the FBI Training Academy, will now have access to the Liberty radio (Model PRC-7332). The base period of performance under this BPA is November 21, 2008, through November 20, 2009, with four option periods of 12 months each.
For more information on the Liberty multiband LMR, visit www.thalesliberty.com.
Project 25 is a suite of standards for uniform digital two-way radio communications for public safety organizations and is specified by major U.S. Government agencies to maximize interoperability and competition.
About Thales Communications, Inc.
Thales Communications, Inc. (www.thalescomminc.com) is a global leader in the development of battle-proven, software-defined, radio equipment and solutions. The company serves the ground, naval, airborne, and homeland security domains with tactical electronic equipment and information systems that address the technological and environmental challenges presented in real-world situations—especially those with size, weight, and power constraints. A U.S. proxy company (100% American), Thales Communications is part of Thales, a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing defense, aerospace, and security markets worldwide. Thales’s leading-edge technology is supported by 22,000 R&D engineers who offer a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy field-proven mission-critical information systems. To this end, the group’s civil and military businesses develop in parallel and share a common base of technologies to serve a single objective: the security of people, property and nations. The group builds its growth on its unique multi-domestic strategy based on trusted partnerships with national customers and market players, while leveraging its global expertise to support local technology and industrial development. Thales employs 68,000 people in 50 countries with 2007 revenues in excess of $18 billion.