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Zetron Releases VoIP Radio Dispatch System
Zetron, Inc., a premier provider of mission-critical communications systems, announces the release of its new Voice-over-IP (VoIP) Radio Dispatch System, Version 1.5. The VoIP Radio Dispatch System (VoIP RDS) is built on the Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) – a widely accepted open standard that ties together VoIP with underlying protocol standards such as UDP and TCP/IP. This allows users to share a common voice communications IP network with SIP-based telephony and full-featured radio dispatch. Zetron’s end-to-end, pure IP, radio dispatching system was first deployed as a custom solution at Puget Sound Energy and is now shipping as a standard product release.
The system consists of up to six PC operator positions running applications software, and one or more Series 6000 SIP Radio Gateways (SRGs). Each operator position uses a very intuitive Windows™-based application and may simultaneously monitor up to 20 or more radios. The Model 6002 SRG supports two radios using either direct local connection or remote 2/4-wire connection using either E&M or Tone Remote Control (TRC) signaling.
The connection between the operator positions and gateways is an IP LAN/WAN. The architecture of the system makes it inherently distributed, avoiding the need to concentrate equipment at a single site. With a properly designed, dedicated IP network, the VoIP RDS can be used for mission critical applications.
Subsequent releases over the next few months will continue to enhance the system capacity and feature set, including a digital IP interface to P25 fixed stations conforming to the new TIA102.BAHA fixed station standard.
The VoIP RDS has several significant advantages over other IP-based radio dispatching solutions:
The system uses the popular IETF standard Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) which has quickly become the defacto standard for VoIP telephone equipment and has been adopted by all of the major telephony manufacturers. The VoIP Radio Dispatch System is able to co-reside in the same network as other SIP-based equipment, sharing much of the same infrastructure.
Tone signaling is encoded and decoded at the radio gateways rather than the operator consoles. This prevents dropped packets and voice compression from interfering with tone paging and PTT-ID decoding.
Radio gateways have no moving parts, use a reliable embedded operating system, and are well suited for the harsh environment of remote radio sites.
"The release of our VoIP Radio Dispatch System reinforces our commitment to support open standards such as SIP," said Zetron President, John Reece. "At Zetron, we choose our technologies carefully to support these standards."
