Simoco gains P25 CAP approval

Radio communications specialist Simoco has announced that its range of professional radio equipment has gained P25 Compliance Assessment Program (CAP) approval, which ensures reliable and seamless communication across multiple vendors’ P25 radio equipment.

Public agencies and emergency services organisations all require seamless and reliable infield radio communications. However, issues can occur when agencies use a variety of equipment from different manufacturers, as they often use varied technical approaches or non-standard features, causing incompatibility.

This potentially compromises the success of communications in emergency operations.

Interoperability is a term that is commonly used by manufacturers referring to the ability of systems to work together. However, until recently, no formal method of testing was available that would enable P25 capable terminals to formally demonstrate their ability to interoperate with other P25 equipment vendors.

Project 25 (P25) CAP was established through a partnership between the US National Institute of Standards and Technology and the US Department of Homeland Security. This voluntary compliance program aims to provide emergency response agencies with a consistent and traceable method of gathering P25 compliance information on the products they buy.

It provides a means of verifying that dollars being invested in new equipment are capable of achieving standardised interoperable solutions.

The compliance allows P25 equipment to formally demonstrate interoperability and conformance with a select group of requirements, within the suite of the P25 standard.

The P25 recognition process requires radios to be tested in a P25-certified laboratory for specification compliance as determined in the TIA standard, as well as demonstrated interoperability with at least three other radio infrastructure vendors.

Interoperability testing was conducted on Simoco’s P25 SRM9000 mobile transceiver and the SRP9180 portable radio in both VHF and UHF bands terminals with Motorola, Harris and EF Johnson trunked systems.

CAP Recognition also means that Simoco terminals can now operate on government-owned networks such as the NSW GRN network, which has CAP compliance and secure configuration requirements.

Additionally, public agencies along with police and other emergency service organisations will be able to take full advantage of the Xmode capability of Simoco radios, which enable seamless mode switching between multiple analog and digital modes, off the single radio. This feature is particularly useful for users who operate on a mixture of new and old technologies in various regions, and provides them a clear and simple migration path to P25.