Requirement

MoDOT was seeking to expand its emergency communications network in order to fulfill its mission and insure public safety in any situation. MoDOT has experienced first-hand the importance of a reliable emergency communications network. In 2008 alone, Missouri dealt with disastrous situations including major flooding and ice storms that were declared state emergency situations. By providing emergency communications services during situations like these, MoDOT helps saves lives.

Solution

After originally testing other leading satellite networks, MoDOT realized that many of the solutions were too costly, or just didn’t work properly, and none of them supported all of their requirements. After careful research for leading vendors, MoDOT teamed with ODN, the Missouri state contractor for satellite services, and Spacenet, a leading provider of satellite networking services, to design and implement an innovative satellite solution. The innovative solution supports full Voice over IP (VOIP) and Radio over IP (RoIP) capabilities with Quality of Service (QoS), Internet access, and can interface with trunked radio systems and analog systems. The solution enables seamless transmission capabilities and control to communicate and interconnect remote tower sites by satellite, and interoperability with legacy systems. The emergency network can be operated and controlled from virtually any location that has access to a high-speed Internet connection, enabling communications over radio across the world.

Customer Value

Since the implementation, MoDOT’s emergency communications network has been put to use numerous times for real-time deployments, and consistently allowed Missouri emergency response units to communicate better and ultimately perform at peak efficiency. The system has been used to support numerous government agencies including police and fire departments, city governments and the military. The network has proved to be invaluable during emergency situations, and during widespread wireline outages, MoDOT’s radio and telephone communications were uninterrupted.