Ranges Far with WAVE

The Challenge

The Forest Service (USFS) manages national forests across the United States. The Intermountain Region alone is responsible for thirteen national forests and nearly 100 ranger stations in Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and California. Although each of these national forests had its own sophisticated Land Mobile Radio (LMR) system, the systems could not be linked easily, stranding the USFS with isolated islands of communications.

Dispatchers and radio users were further constrained by the hard-wired analog circuits used to connect radio facilities with specific dispatch centers. As a result, communications between forests were impaired, dispatchers were not able to back each other up in emergencies, and firefighting aircraft coordination required constant handoffs as planes flew in and out of radio coverage. As the cost and scope of their firefighting efforts grew, the Forest Service needed a flexible, affordable and manageable system that could extend emergency communications throughout the region.

The Solution

The Forest Service turned to NICS for help. NICS, a Twisted Pair OEM Partner, helped the USFS implement MARC, "Multi-Agency Radio Communications," a WAVE^® Powered solution. The MARC system leverages the WAVE SDK and enables individual servers to be interconnected on the IP network using commercial off-the-shelf network equipment. Multiple MARC servers running WAVE are deployed throughout several regions. Once the radio traffic in each forest is brought onto the IP network, MARC handles the secure mixing, patching, and transcoding of the audio signals. Dispatchers maintain constant communications with firefighting aircraft and coordinate emergencies that span multiple forests. WAVE's ability to generate radio control tones enables full utilization of the numerous radio repeaters installed in each forest, guaranteeing communications from base station staff to rangers who may be two or three days' horseback ride from civilization.

Solution Features

• Managed communications. Radio channels from one ranger station can now be delivered to multiple dispatch centers, which work together to provide better coverage at reduced cost.
• Flight following. A single dispatcher can now maintain constant radio communications with aircraft in the region, even if the plane traverses multiple national forests, increasing safety and ensuring a faster turnaround time for firefighting aircraft.
• Radio bridging. Dispatchers can now bridge multiple LMR channels, PCs, and phones in seconds, even if the radios are on different frequencies or in non-adjacent regions.
• Strategic investment. Since WAVE can bridge between Cisco CallManager IP phones and LMR radios, the USFS no longer needs separate networks for voice, data, and two-way radios.
• Cost savings. Base station personnel can use the WAVE Desktop Communicator^® to talk with radios directly from their PCs, eliminating the need to invest in expensive radio consoles for everyone who needs to communicate.

The Feedback

The Forest Service appreciates the flexibility and reliability of their WAVE-based interoperability solution and continues to find new ways to use WAVE for everyday and emergency communications. "The WAVE-powered MARC systems have allowed the USFS and our sister agencies to extend and enable channels of communications to areas, personnel, and geographies that prior to now were unachievable," said John Burt, telecommunications manager, USFS Humboldt Toiyabe, National Forest/State of Nevada.

The Future

NICS has currently deployed MARC systems in 17 national forests, replicating the success of the Intermountain Region's WAVE Powered solution across nine states. Once these projects are completed, Forest Service communications will be fully interoperable over a wide swath of the Western United States. Twisted Pair Solutions is working closely with NICS and the Forest Service as they continue to extend the reach of their interoperability solution.

About USDA Forest Service

The Forest Service was established in 1905 to manage national forests and grasslands. Today, the public lands administered by the Forest Service encompass 193 million acres, an area the size of Texas. Visit the Forest Service on the web at www.fs.fed.us.

About NICS

Network Integration & Consulting Services is a technology firm and Certified WAVE OEM Partner. NICS specializes in packet-switched IP-based Land Mobile Radio interoperability solutions, and offers networking design, integration, sales, and management services. Their MARC and RAVIN (Radio and Voice Interoperability Nest) products are both "Powered by WAVE." To learn more, visit them on the web at www.nicserv.com.

About Twisted Pair Solutions

Twisted Pair Solutions, Inc. designs and builds enterprise software solutions that enable interoperable group communications. Our WAVE software manages real-time, secure, group communications over the IP network, linking in people and devices. The application suite serves an unlimited variety of devices including radios, personal computers, cell phones, and IP phones and allows previously incompatible systems to work together seamlessly. In addition, Twisted Pair's management server capabilities enable robust device and user management over the IP backbone.

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