Chris Leckness

Today, Sprint and Motorola announce the availability of a local, regional and national network interoperability solution. Now, a Nextel Direct Connect user can talk directly to a first responder who uses a Project 25 land mobile radio (LMR), creating a new level of interoperability by allowing the two types of push-to-talk services to communicate with each other.
To enable this interoperability, Motorola has developed a gateway -- MOTOBRIDGE IP Interoperable solution -- that facilitates the integration of disparate networks (different bands, system types or vendors) to provide enhanced communications among users for day-to-day or emergency applications with built in scalability to allow numerous agencies, users and dispatch locations to be supported. In addition, Advanced Nextel features such as, Group Calls, Call Alert Status Messages, Talkgroup Calls and Emergency Alerts are enabled seamlessly through the MOTOBRIDGE Solution.



"The collaboration between Motorola and Sprint is a critical step to further boosting communications capabilities for public safety personnel," said James Lee Witt, former FEMA director and current Chief Executive Officer of James Lee Witt Associates, a part of GlobalOptions Group. "It is essential to enable interoperability and simplify communications when operating on different frequencies."
"The tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the real need for instant communication between local, state and federal safety officials. Those two catastrophic events showed in real time just how vulnerable America is," said John Walsh, host of America's Most Wanted. "The relationship of these two industry giants, Sprint Nextel and Motorola, to facilitate immediate communication between our first responders, is a major step in making America safer. This technology will help save lives."
Nextel Direct Connect is the world's largest and fastest push-to-talk service, with millions of users enjoying it today. As the leading provider of push-to-talk service, Sprint has the largest portfolio of Nextel Direct Connect devices, including the largest selection of rugged phones certified to Military Standard 810F for dust, shock, vibration, etc. Sprint also offers exclusive Public Safety push-to-talk applications such as Priority Connect, Emergency Group Connect and Priority Group Connect.
Source: Sprint press release... Thanks for reading this article, to comment on it, please click here...