VoIP Gateways

ICOM, Incorporated is an international manufacturer of radio transmitting and receiving equipment. It was founded in 1954 by Tokuzo Inoue.  Originally the company's name was Inoue. Its headquarters are in Osaka, Japan. The company also has branch offices in the U.S. in Bellevue, Washington.

Its products now include equipment for radio amateurs, pilots, maritime applications, land mobile professional applications and radio scanner enthusiasts.

Radio over Internet Protocol (RoIP) is similar to voice over Internet Protocol. The difference being that it augments two-way radio communications rather than telephone calls. Essentially, it can be considered VoIP with Push to Talk (PTT). PTT is a method of conversing on half-duplex communication lines, including two-way radio, using a momentary button to switch from voice reception mode to transmit mode.

At least one node of a network is a radio. This can be a radio with an IP interface device. This node is connected via Internet Protocol to other nodes in the radio network. The other nodes can be two-way radios, but could also be a device such as a dispatch consoles and of course smartphones. One of the major problems with RoIP is issues with delay or latency and reliability on centralized infrastructures.

ICOM, Inc. recently announced the release of its new Versatile Radio Over IP Gateway (News - Alert), called the VE-PG3. The device is a transceiver. It is designed to enhance the communication coverage and convenience of a radio network.

The VE-PG3 has two function modes; one is the bridge mode which interconnects two or more RoIP networks. The radio users can talk to other radio group users over the network. The VE-PG3 can connect dispersed radio systems over the network and can provide cross band communication between VHF and UHF or IDAS NXDN digital and analog conventional radio systems.

The other mode is the converter mode which interconnects calls between connected IP phone,analog phone and radio systems. Radio users can dial to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) line or an IP phone number. In addition, external equipment such as a public address system, red lights and/or sirens can be connected to the VE-PG3. Radio and telephone users can remotely operate them over the network. The VE-PG3 is a new versatile interconnection solution.

The VE-PG3 has two external equipment connectors for audio input/output and other switching. This is how you can connect a public address system, siren, warning light and other external equipment to the VE-PG3.

In addition to the bridge and converter modes, there is a mixing function. The mixing function mixes the bridged audio to the other bridges. It can provide site-to-multisite type communication even on a network which does not support IP multicast routing.