IP based radio transmission solution from EADS makes communication easier at G8 and G20 Summits

Event security and management involved an estimated 19,000 security personnel

Leaders of eight nations and thousands of visitors and press from around the globe gathered in Huntsville and Toronto, Ontario for the events

EADS Defence & Security's IP based P25 digital public safety radio delivered efficient and secure communication for Royal Canadian Mounted Police before, during and after the summits

Event security and management involved an estimated 19,000 security personnel

EADS Defence & Security (DS), through subsidiary PlantCML®, announced that its COR_P25 digital, trunked land mobile radio system served a mission critical role in security during the recent G8 and G20 Summits in Huntsville and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, handling in excess of 264,000 radio transmissions. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) worked in concert with the Ontario Provincial Police, the Canadian Forces, Toronto Police Service and other law enforcement and security agencies to ensure the public safety of the thousands of summit attendees, reporters, visitors and residents.

One of the most rapidly deployed (in less than seven months) large scale mission critical systems of its kind, this state-of-the-art, open-standard IP-based COR_P25 digital radio communications network not only serviced the RCMP's critical communications needs during the G8 and G20 Summits, it will also be expanded to provide ongoing safety and security for the province of Ontario, Canada. The APCO Project 25 (P25) digital public safety radio communication network, along with command and control centres, will now serve the entire province of Ontario as a component of the new Central Region Operation Communication System.

The G8 and G20 summits are held annually for world leaders to discuss topics of global concern ranging from terrorism to the economy. Canadian public safety officials have stated that the summits represented the largest deployment of security personnel for a major event in Canadian history. It is estimated that this deployment surpasses that of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics with more sites and more users devices covering a larger geographical area, all implemented in less than 25% of the time.

CORP25 digital, trunked land mobile radio system served a mission critical role in security during the recent G8 and G20 Summits

"The EADS COR_P25 system worked reliably, surpassing high levels of standard Quality of Service metrics. With more than 2,500 terminals used during the event, security operations, processed more than 58,000 radio transmissions per day, all handled seamlessly during the events," said Chuck Sackley, VP and GM for Land Mobile Radio Solutions.

"More and more, we see organisers of large events - political gatherings, sporting competitions, concerts or multi-jurisdictional security events - opting for open standards based, interoperable digital radio networks to help them coordinate the efforts of their security personnel," Pierre Delestrade, President and CEO, EADS Canada said. "EADS Defence & Security is proud to provide the security backbone necessary to assure the smooth running of such high profile events as well as long term communications for the future of the region."

To provide the most current equipment available, EADS Defence & Security worked with Motorola, Zetron and EXACOM. EXACOM supplied their Hindsight-G2™ Multi-Media P25 Logging Recorder System. This recording system incorporates the latest in public safety recording initiatives with integrations to address both Next-Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) technology and P25 IP radio systems. Zetron provided their Advanced Communication (Acom) dispatch console system. Acom is a fully digital switching and multiplexing system that represents the state-of-the-art in dispatch console technology for mission-critical applications. The Acom system for this project included functionality that was optimised specifically for this application.

As previously announced in May, Motorola XTS 2500 digital portable radios were also part of the total solution. Its deployment for the G8 and G20 summits was another example of how the open, standards-compliant nature of CORP25 enables Public Safety Agencies, such as the RCMP "O" Division, to select components from multiple vendors to create a "best in class" network that is tailored to address the specific needs of the agency at the lowest cost of ownership as well as extending the life of the network.

In the U.S. and Canada, EADS Defence & Security conducts operations through subsidiary PlantCML. A pioneer and trusted leader in mission critical communications, PlantCML, provides key technologies for public safety, federal and corporate markets.

The full-circle security and communications portfolio includes 9-1-1 call centre CTI applications for call processing, CAD, mapping and information management, as well as managed services, notification solutions and services and P25 Land Mobile Radio networks. PlantCML's facilities include headquarters in Temecula, CA as well as locations in Franklin, Tennessee, Frisco, Texas and a major location in Gatineau, Quebec, which serves as the company's centre of excellence and primary research and development centre.