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Avtec has announced that the company’s IP-based Avtec Scout CSSI radio dispatch console for its state-of-the-art 911 Communications Center has been accepted by City of Richardson (News - Alert), Texas.

To provide the city with access to more advanced radio features and to allow it to enjoy flexibility to easily customize dispatchers' screens, the new P25 trunked radio system replaces the city's 19-year old analog system and leverages Avtec's end-to-end IP-based consoles in the 911 call center. Using open standards such as P25 CSSI (Console Sub-System Interface) and P25 CAI (Common Air Interface), the city procured major components (radio system, portable radios, consoles, logging recorder) from different vendors and integrated them together.

“Our commitment to open standards, including the P25 CSSI interface, allowed Avtec to provide the city of Richardson with a more future-proof console system than traditional choices," said Michael Branning, president of Avtec." Although we have nearly 2,000 Scout consoles in service and multiple P25 CSSI projects underway, this is the first P25 CSSI project in North America to go live, and we are excited. Avtec supports open standards because it gives customers choices both now and in the future.”

The New Open-Standards Communications Center has already brought a variety of benefits to the city such as: leveraging existing IP networks saving circuit costs; the ability to handle more than 7,000 calls in a typical day;  providing interoperability between the city's P25 trunked system and conventional radios; saving taxpayers over $4 million and providing improved radio coverage; and including four independent, distributable VPGate gateways.

Recently, the company announced that it will introduce three new radio interfaces at the February 2012 International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) in Las Vegas. Avtec claims it is the first-to-market with a direct IP connection to Kenwood's NEXEDGE NXR-700/NXR-800 repeaters, as well as a direct IP connection to Icom's IDAS IC-FR5000/IC-FR6000 repeater, and support for Sprint's (News - Alert) Direct Connect push-to-talk cellular service.