Aculab, a leading provider of enabling technology for the communications market

The communications needs of the emergency services

Emergency services and public safety users need to be able to rely upon the communications tools they use. Hence reliability and system resilience are key system design factors. Information received through emergency communications systems needs to be efficiently delivered to the desired personnel in real time and to a wide range of devices both fixed and mobile. Additionally, any communications system for mission-critical emergency services use has to be secured from eavesdroppers through the use of encryption techniques.

A requirement common to all sectors and not specific to the emergency services sector is the need for cost efficiencies. Accountability to the public is the driver for cost efficiency programs in public service organisations where it has to be shown that a cost effective service is being provided. Cost savings through the consolidation of legacy TDM and next generation IP voice and data networks is one way this can be achieved.

Mobile command and control solutions for emergency services are increasingly based on next generation, IP-based technology and application platforms. These need to be able to interconnect with office based and mobile users regardless of which type of network they are operating within - be that TETRA, TDM, SIP or UDP/RTP.

Aculab technology for emergency service communications system developers

Aculab products are well suited for use in tailored telecommunications solutions for the emergency/public safety services, government agencies and commercial organisations that rely on mission-critical communications. The Prosody portfolio is based around an IP architecture but incorporates E1/T1 functionality (Prosody X boards) to provide links into legacy TDM communications architectures. Mobile, TETRA and IP network codecs are supported as standard by the Prosody products.

With these wide-ranging capabilities, Prosody technology is ideal for use in recording, conferencing and transcoding gateways and servers for both secure and unsecured networks.

For more information on the Prosody portfolio visit the DSP-based media processing or host media processing pages.

Aculab's partnership approach

To complement our feature rich product range, we offer customers a solid vendor partnership in the field of professional services, ongoing development and support, based on our in-depth expertise and experience. The foundation of Aculab's approach is our industry-recognised agility and willingness to meet and exceed customer demands.

We focus on our customers recognising that their success is our success and we are willing to listen and invest in the technology they need to achieve their goals. One of the key areas that sets Aculab apart is our ability to respond to customers near term requirements through our Request for Change (RFC) process. Adding a TETRA codec to the Prosody portfolio has been done at the request of existing customers. The multi-channel implementation of the TETRA low bit rate codec - a software solution for use with Prosody S or a DSP-based option to run on Prosody X media processing boards, will enable developers of communications systems for the emergency services to create recording, conferencing and transcoding gateways for both secure and unsecured networks. We are always willing to consider other specific requirements of projects so that you get the solution specific to your needs.

Visit our partners section for a list of partners offering platforms for the emergency services and public safety sectors based on Aculab's technology.