Category Archives: Public Safety

REDCOM announces the availability of Sigma Client for Android on the FirstNet App Store

| May 8, 2024

REDCOM Laboratories, Inc., a leading developer and supplier of advanced tactical communications systems for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), today announced the release of Sigma Client for Android on the AT&T FirstNet App Store.

With this release, REDCOM’s trusted mobile softphone is now available for first responders, providing more avenues for communication and interoperability. REDCOM’s reliable and secure Sigma Client for Android includes 2048-bit RSA encryption for voice, video, and chat and integrated Push-To-Talk (PTT) for instant communications with any user on the network. Designed for Disconnected, Intermittent, and Limited Bandwidth (DIL) environments, the Sigma ecosystem can maintain communications regardless of the emergency, improving coordination and helping to save lives.

The REDCOM Sigma Client’s user interface focuses on human ergonomics for maximum efficiency. In chaotic environments, every second counts, so the Sigma interface is designed to be as simple as possible. The latest release of the Sigma Client includes both a light mode and dark mode, so users can choose the interface that best fits their operating environment.

Sigma Client for Android can be downloaded from the FirstNet App Store at https://apps.firstnet.att.com

 

About FirstNet

FirstNet provides America’s first responders with highly secure and reliable connectivity while on the job, whether it be a crisis or a routine task in a congested area. FirstNet provides public safety with a dedicated lane of connectivity when they need it. To help ensure first responders have as much coverage and capacity as possible, FirstNet subscribers have access to all AT&T LTE commercial spectrum bands, as well as nationwide Band 14 spectrum. During an emergency, this band can be cleared and locked just for FirstNet subscribers.

All Applications listed in the FirstNet catalog have been scanned for malware and security vulnerabilities to protect the public safety community. Certified apps have passed more stringent security assessments.

 

About REDCOM

REDCOM Laboratories, Inc. specializes in the development of advanced strategic, operational, and tactical communication solutions with a focus on interoperability, flexibility, and ease of use. REDCOM’s tactical products are optimized for low size, weight, and power (SWaP), making them the ideal communications core for denied environments or deployments to the tactical edge. REDCOM’s customers include all branches of the military, government agencies, emergency responders, integrators, and enterprises. All REDCOM products are proudly designed, built, and supported in the United States. For additional information, please visit the REDCOM website at www.redcom.com.

What is Interoperability?

| June 6, 2023

What is Interoperability?

Interoperability is the ability of two or more devices, systems, or networks to communicate with each other. To claim interoperability as a strength within a communications product is to say that a product or solution set is flexible and able to speak multiple languages.

The Interoperability Challenge

Industries that rely on communications — first responders, government agencies and military forces, to name a few — need a network that allows end devices from varying manufacturers with different operating systems to be seamlessly connected.

In many instances, organizations will run into interoperability issues because vendors have created and implemented proprietary interfaces within their products. If two or more devices from multiple vendors are connected to the same network medium, and only one is able to communicate its full feature set via proprietary methods, interoperability is simply not possible. In addition, this often traps customers into a single vendor’s closed ecosystem. When a system or sub-system is built around proprietary methods, enhancements or needed functions offered by adjunct products become difficult, if not impossible.

Interoperability Challenges

Finding a means to bridge the gap between disparate networks is a common challenge. Networks may include IP, TDM (PSTN), radio, analog, wireless, and more — each with their own unique way of handling and transporting their respective signaling and media. Further compounding the problem is the varying security levels and formats between these networks. Solutions that require multiple “boxes” to solve these challenges become expensive, heavy, power-intensive, and cumbersome to manage.

Our solution, the REDCOM Sigma XRI, solves these interoperability challenges in a small 2.6 lb MIL-spec box. Sigma XRI is a full-featured C2 platform; radio users can communicate directly with users on any SIP endpoint and can be controlled and patched together on-the-fly via the REDCOM C2 Console app.

Achieving Interoperability

To achieve interoperability, REDCOM believes in employing interfaces and protocols that are open and well-defined. For example, internet-based connections are built from open and publicly available rules defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). REDCOM products that connect to the PSTN meet the requirements set forth by the FCC. Taking this open standards-based approach to design ensures interoperability with the greatest number of third-party equipment and all the features that come along with them.

Interworking between disparate protocols and network mediums is a key component of interoperability.  This is something that REDCOM has worked hard to excel in. In fact, REDCOM is able to connect the latest mobile devices to a WWII era field phone. Translations between network mediums, security levels, endpoints, and others can often be handled by a single box, further helping to reduce SWaP.

REDCOM has made a commitment to interoperability by dedicating resources to testing with third-party equipment. This effort not only validates that a product will work as intended when deployed in the field, but also provides important information to help drive product strategy with respect to the next generation of communications.

REDCOM Laboratories, Inc. signs Amtel Phone Systems as a Strategic Partner

| January 27, 2021

REDCOM is pleased to announce the addition of Amtel Phone Systems as a strategic partner in the First Responder and Public Safety verticals. Amtel is a Houston, Texas-based organization and a leading provider of top industry phone brands, providing innovative IP phone solutions to their customers.

“Partnering with Amtel Phone Systems allows REDCOM to reach new markets, expanding our presence into Texas and giving us a reliable and trusted partner,” says REDCOM’s National Channel Manager, Gwen Salmon. “We’re excited to be working with Amtel to help bring their clients solutions that bridge the interoperability gap and bring new capabilities to their existing infrastructure.”

Walter Davidson, Co-Owner of Amtel Phone Systems echoes that statement: “We want to help our customers help themselves. The public safety solutions we have access to with REDCOM as a trusted partner gives us technology that’s been missing, and something that’s really necessary.” He goes on to say that after Hurricane Harvey, they knew they needed to have something that would allow them to help their customers respond quickly if and when natural disasters like that happen again, “We see that REDCOM is filling a niche that has not been available to us here before, and we want to bring that to our customers.”

The partnership will see Amtel distribute a range of REDCOM Solutions —including REDCOM’s radio interoperability solution, REDCOM CrucialConnect— to their customers in the Houston area and beyond.

 

About REDCOM

Based in Victor, N.Y., REDCOM is a woman-owned small business that specializes in the design and manufacture of advanced communications solutions with a focus on interoperability, flexibility, and ease of use. REDCOM’s customers include first responders, public safety organizations, integrators, government agencies, and all branches of the military. All REDCOM products are proudly designed, built, and supported in the United States. For additional information, please visit the REDCOM website at https://www.redcom.com.

About Amtel Phone Systems

Based in Houston, TX, Amtel is a leading provider of top industry phone brands, delivering innovative digital phone solutions to their customers and leading the way toward unified communications in all industries of business. Offering IT services, managed services, and telephone services, Amtel allows full service integration, no matter how great the distance. For additional information, please visit the Amtel website at https://www.amtelphonesystems.com/.

 

Tips for Cybersecurity Awareness Campaigns

| November 5, 2020

Cybersecurity presentationsNearly all professionals are familiar with the idea of cybersecurity awareness campaigns: presentations and discussions about cyber risks and practices to mitigate said risks.  Likewise, many familiar with these campaigns may also know how ineffective they can be in convincing the average user to enhance their security habits. Recent research has attempted to isolate certain aspects of cybersecurity campaigns which lead to their ineffectiveness and overall downfall. In this post, we will explore the research and dive into suggested ways to help improve the odds of an awareness campaign being successful.

Cybersecurity campaign goals

The overall goal of a cybersecurity awareness campaign is to “render people amenable to change(s)” which will ultimately raise their security posture. To accomplish this goal, two conditions must be met:

1. People must be able to understand and apply cybersecurity advice
2. Users must have their attitudes and intentions changed in favor of being more security-conscious

A successful campaign will need to be structured around these conditions to alter attitudes and actions towards cybersecurity. According to NIST Special Publication 800-50, it is important to note that cybersecurity awareness is not the same as cybersecurity training. Cybersecurity awareness should ultimately alter a person’s cybersecurity perspective, rendering them more motivated and receptive to formal cybersecurity training.

Factors of an unsuccessful cybersecurity campaign

While the goal is to run successful cybersecurity campaigns, it is vital to understand that factors that can derail the effort, factors such as:

misunderstanding cybersecurityMisunderstanding security

Although this idea may seem obvious, it proves to be a point of failure for campaigns. Not only must a campaign have an idea as to what general cybersecurity looks like, they must also know what cybersecurity means to the audience they’re communicating with. Not all experiences with cybersecurity are created equally, so realizing your audience’s current understanding of cybersecurity is crucial in order to effectively relate to them. Relating to your audience in how they already think about cybersecurity feels more personal and will be easier to convey knowledge that will impact their actions.

Compliance

Compliance with a cybersecurity education program does not equal proper behavioral changes. It is more important to emphasize appropriate behavior and actions than compliance with a cybersecurity course or program.

Uniqueness of awareness

Heightened awareness of cybersecurity will be an entirely new action or practice for many individuals, so it should be taught with that same approach. Cybersecurity awareness is a unique skill, so constant reinforcement of proper behaviors and actions is a necessity, as well as reassurance when individuals falter or have misunderstandings.

Lack of engaging material

Information disseminated by cybersecurity campaigns must be easily digestible and engaging. This could prove rather difficult for large-scale campaigns, as cybersecurity notions will certainly differ from one audience to another. A wide range of information covered via several media (e.g., posters, brochures, presentations, demonstrations, etc.) could increase adaptability to multiple distinct audiences.

Relate to an audience at the individual level

Studies have shown that one of the most effective media for engaging with audiences from the general population is the poster.

Absence of data collection

Regularly collecting metrics from audiences allows for those working on the campaign to learn which methods are working and which are not. Data collection will enable campaigns to improve based on direct feedback from audience members.

Unreasonable expectations

Organizers of cybersecurity campaigns must recognize that they are attempting to teach an entirely new skill and that failure is inevitable. Individuals will falter when learning any new practice, and cybersecurity is no exception: organizers must leave room for failure and turn failures into learning opportunities.

Multiple threats

There is an ever-increasing variety of cyberattacks, so awareness campaigns must be prepared to test their audiences in a variety of different ways (quizzes, false phishing, risky behavior analysis, etc.). Like the last point, it is important not to shame or discourage an individual if they fail a testing exercise, rather, it is important to turn the failures into learning moments and provide continued encouragement.

Factors of a successful cybersecurity campaign

Communication

Finding success with a broad audience requires information through several media. As mentioned before, posters have been reported to be the most effective.

Computer-based training

Computers are an omnipresent component of modern cybersecurity, so it’s crucial to expose audiences to them as much as feasibly possible. Computer demonstrations and exercises may be useful for smaller-scale audiences.

Awareness events

Events help bring security awareness efforts to life. Events are places where information can be distributed, demonstrations can be performed, and questions can be asked. Events can also allow campaign organizers to gauge an audiences’ understanding and feelings of cybersecurity.

Security portal

An online campaign must provide general information on cyber attacks and cybersecurity in general in an online format. The portal should include a knowledge base and a section where general users can ask questions in an online forum to promote discussion.

Behavioral testing & teachable moments

Campaign organizers need to be prepared to allow failures in understandings, practices, and testing. As stated previously, these failures should be met with a positive attitude and reinforcement of proper cybersecurity behaviors and actions.

Teaching new skills effectively

Cybersecurity is an extraordinarily complex field, so when teaching proper skills & behavior to a general audience, complex goals should be broken down into short-term, achievable steps. Any & all assistance should be offered to all participants of a campaign at any time, whether it be answering a specific question or reintroducing basic concepts.

Conclusion

cybersecurityCybersecurity awareness is an enormous concept and campaigns will take some trial & error in order to see some marginal success. It is important to consider the factors outlined in this study, as they seem to make valid points about the human experience with cybersecurity. One of the most important aspects, it seems, is that no one person is an expert in all of cybersecurity, and when teaching practices of good cybersecurity posture, one should treat it as the almost entirely new skill that it is. It is also important to remember that cybersecurity is an ever-changing field, and advances in cybersecurity awareness & overall posture must remain ever-changing as well.

REDCOM Laboratories, Inc. signs Stolz Telecom as a Strategic Partner

| August 6, 2020

REDCOM is pleased to announce the addition of Stolz Telecom as a strategic partner in the First Responder and Public Safety Market. Stolz Telecom is an Oklahoma and Texas-based organization committed to providing innovative technology solutions to both the public safety community and the business sector.

“This announcement is part of REDCOM’s continuing strategy of developing our public safety channel through both organic and non-organic growth. We’re proud to be working with Stolz Telecom to bring their clients solutions that bridge the interoperability gap and bring new capabilities to their existing infrastructure,” says REDCOM’s National Channel Manager, Gwen Salmon.

“Our core competencies in LMR, 911 and Radio Dispatch enable us to use REDCOM as an interoperability bridge with other platforms and manufacturers to ensure that our public safety customers can talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere,” says Robert Stolz, president of Stolz Telecom.

“REDCOM’s flexibility in the strategic communications space, as well as being manufactured and engineered in the USA, were both important reasons we decided to partner with REDCOM,” added Robert.

The partnership will see Stolz Telecom distribute a range of REDCOM Solutions, including REDCOM’s radio interoperability solution, REDCOM CrucialConnect.

“When you combine Stolz Telecom’s product set and reputation with REDCOM’s solutions, we have the opportunity to expedite first responder adoption of comprehensive radio interoperability, no matter the existing endpoint or what legacy equipment may be in operation,” says Gwen.

 

About REDCOM

Based in Victor, N.Y., REDCOM is a woman-owned small business that specializes in the design and manufacture of advanced communications solutions with a focus on interoperability, reliability, and security. REDCOM’s customers include first responders, public safety organizations, integrators, government agencies, and all branches of the military. For additional information, please visit the REDCOM website at https://www.redcom.com.

 

About Stolz Telecom

At Stolz Telecom, we provide innovative telecommunications services to entities nationwide, as well as leading-edge business technology. But it is our commitment to those we serve that truly sets us apart. Stolz Telecom can help your organization fulfill its Customer Service and Information Technology needs by developing customized, cost-effective and high-quality solutions that will bring your organization to a whole new level. To learn more about Stolz Telecom, visit the website at https://www.stolztele.com.

Hypothetical Cyber Attack – Exploiting WEA

| July 21, 2020

The global pandemic has shed light on the shortcomings of critical infrastructure across industries and uncovered significant vulnerabilities in current systems. One lesson to take from this pandemic is the importance of proactively examining essential systems for potential vulnerabilities. 

This practice is especially important in the telecommunications sector, which houses several critical sites and services that enable life-saving communications. As an exercise, REDCOM took a look at one of these systems, the Wireless Emergency Alert System or WEA (now known as the Presidential Alert System). 

WEA

If you have ever received an amber alert or severe weather alert directly on your smartphone, you’ve seen WEA in action. WEA is the system responsible for driving critical announcements to all available LTE devices in a target area. While this system is largely seen as a benefit to communities, there is an opportunity for abuse within the WEA by malicious parties with the appropriate technical skill and motivation. 

Past abuse of WEA

In 2018, a state-wide false alarm occurred in Hawaii, where residents were told that a ballistic missile was en route to Oahu. This incident was the result of miscommunication between workers at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HEMA) and general human error. This alert was not deemed a false alarm for fifteen minutes before Hawaii’s governor David Ige made the announcement on Twitter. HEMA did not broadcast a corrective message until thirty minutes had passed.

WAE System hawaiiIn the hour after receiving the alert, residents were in a panic and attempting to flee or shelter at any cost. Honolulu EMS saw a doubling in its calls for assistance, with some of the more notable calls detailing heart attacks and vehicular accidents. With just an accidental misuse of the WEA system causing such damage, panic, and mayhem, one’s thoughts turn to the worst-case scenario: What damage could be done through a widespread, coordinated attack using the WEA System?

Understanding how WEA works

WEA alerts can be sent from a variety of Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) – local and state EOCs have the power to send WEA alerts to their corresponding areas, while government agencies can send out nationwide alerts. A high-level view of the WEA system architecture can be seen below.

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Although not detailed in this image, the act of issuing a WEA alert appears fairly secure. WEA alerts must be submitted through a portal that requires a certified operator’s credentials (Mead, 2016). This alert must then be signed by a second operator before the alert can be sent to the Federal Alert Aggregator, further inspecting and authenticating the alert. If an alert is authenticated, it is sent through an Alert Gateway, where the alert will then be distributed according to who issued it; to the areas which the incident has/will affect, etc. Residents in the affected area then receive a WEA alert on their smart devices which informs them of the event at hand.

It is this stage of distribution where the major vulnerability lies for the WEA system. According to researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder (UCB), a malicious actor would only need to construct a makeshift cellular tower and know how to impersonate the alert format to distribute false WEA alerts to citizens in a given area. This vulnerability is due to the use of less-secure LTE mechanisms rather than more traditional authentication-based messaging mechanisms. 

Hypothetical cyber attack

Because the goal of WEA messages is to broadcast to as many devices as possible, a threat actor with a makeshift cell tower only needs to know the message format and the LTE channel to send the faulty message to – any LTE device will then receive the message if they are in the range of the false tower. The formatting and band information are available and accessible through open-source and commercial-of-the-shelf (COTS) means. 

Given this information, it is unlikely that a malicious actor would be able to spoof a nationwide alert through the WEA system. However, it is plausible that a team of actors can distribute false messages to a few key populated areas to incite panic and create turmoil. 

If this attack were successful, and a few major cities were hit simultaneously, there could be substantial damage and loss of life. There could certainly be a period of time of total chaos if the message were severe enough and distributed to enough people. Depending on the content of the false alert, other critical resources may become unavailable due to investigating the situation (e.g., a false bomb threat in a crowded stadium may draw more police and EMS resources than other incidents). 

An attack via WEA may also be used as a diversion to render critical resources temporarily unavailable in pursuit of another mission or goal. Likewise, if the area of deployment were more targeted and the stakes of the false threat more serious, something like this could be used as a primary attack method. For example, an alert detailing imminent missile strikes in certain sections of New York City may be enough to cause destructive levels of panic. 

Either way, potential attacks on the WEA system are capable of turning normalcy on its head in a matter of seconds. Given the circumstances from the Hawaii incident, a successful, false WEA message may also discourage the general public from taking these messages seriously when they are legitimate, potentially resulting in more damage – this time from actual emergencies. 

Conclusion

While this exercise is purely hypothetical, it is not to discount the vulnerabilities in a critical alerting system. The WEA system using less-secure LTE mechanisms is an issue that should be addressed. A potential solution is merely adding more traditional authentication-based messaging mechanisms. It is imperative that we, as an industry, continue to look at critical infrastructure for vulnerabilities proactively. While it’s impossible to know, the weaknesses in systems that we address today can very well save lives tomorrow.

References

Mead, N. R., & Woody, C. (2016). Cyber security engineering: A practical approach for systems and software assurance. Addison-Wesley Professional

Communications for Humanitarian Aid

| June 10, 2020

With the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicting an above-average hurricane season, the conversation regarding communications for humanitarian aid has never been more timely.

In the wake of a natural disaster, having effective coordination to facilitate a rapid and efficient response is the key to success.

For effective coordination, there is a clear need for response systems that can provide interoperability between a multitude of different organizations and even countries using different communication platforms. Furthermore, the ability to move up and down classification levels is essential when government and non-government parties are involved with relief efforts.

Communications for Humanitarian Aid

Being able to take advantage of existing communication infrastructures such as analog public telephone systems can help connect all parties trying to provide support for personnel from their countries. Functioning public communication and information systems can serve as an alternate means of communication using off-the-shelf technologies.

For military units, handling this type of interoperability often means carrying boxes upon boxes of additional equipment that is not only costly but also time-consuming to set up, configure, and maintain. This problem is further magnified when units have a limited number of personnel that can spend time learning this equipment.

The Solution

The ability for a unit to simply and efficiently operate with the existing legacy communication systems found in the affected area leads to more efficient coordination and recovery efforts. The ideal solution is an integrated platform that can accommodate various gateways, has low Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) requirements, is intuitive for the user, and can be rapidly deployed in any environment.

REDCOM’s SLICE® family of products are purpose-built call and session controllers designed to meet the low-SWaP, deployable communications requirements of military and defense organizations. REDCOM hardware is designed to be fully scalable between both tactical and strategic networks and delivers maximum interoperability between multiple interfaces and protocols including: SIP, AS-SIP, Secure Devices, V.150.1, GSM, Radio, SATCOM, ISDN PRI, Euro PRI, IPv4, IPv6, and Magneto.

In addition to operating as an LSC, the REDCOM SLICE products can be configured to function as a:

  • Master Session Controller (MSC): serving in a coordinated cluster with subordinate S.C.s.
  • Subtended Session Controller (SSC): serving as a subordinate when clustered with an MSC.
  • Deployed Session Controllers (also known as Failover Session Controllers): supporting Continuity of Operations Capabilities (COOP) communications when a site is isolated from the Enterprise Session Controller (ESC). COOP communications include features such as audio conferencing, PSTN/DSN access, and intra-base precedence calling.

REDCOM donates software and services to help Monroe County respond to COVID-19 emergency

| April 1, 2020

REDCOM Laboratories, Inc. has loaned its secure conferencing solution and professional services to the Monroe County Office of Emergency Management to help enhance communications during the COVID-19 crisis.

As the county tries to limit the number of people on-site, the need for real-time communication and conferencing tools has increased dramatically. The county’s existing conferencing solution presented several ease-of-use challenges, especially as the number of participants increased. Notably, there was no visual means of monitoring or controlling each conference. Automated announcements would constantly interrupt conversations whenever a user entered or left, and conference organizers had no way to mute individual attendees. Clearly, these technical challenges made it difficult to coordinate resources during an emergency scenario.

Derwin and Dave setting up Sigma

REDCOM’s Derwin Melendez-Diaz and Dave Conover set up the REDCOM Sigma Conference Manager at the Monroe County Emergency Management Offices.

REDCOM quickly took action, deploying three of the company’s experts to consult with the county. With the county’s technical staff already busy managing other emergencies, REDCOM donated its team and professional services in order to get REDCOM Conference Manager — a part of REDCOM Sigma® call control software — installed and running on the county’s servers within hours.

“The REDCOM conferencing system is allowing us to focus on the content of the conversation and managing the emergency without interruptions or distractions,” said Tim Kohlmeier, Deputy Public Safety Director and Emergency Manager, Office of Emergency Management. “We’re impressed by how quickly the REDCOM system was set up and how easy it is to use.”

By leveraging the REDCOM Conference Manager, county officials now have a visual overview of all conference attendees, viewable from a web browser. The conference organizer can manually mute participants with loud background noise, and even has the ability to join/split conferences or initiate a conference with a single click. The system will remain in operation at least through the duration of the COVID-19 crisis.

About REDCOM

REDCOM Laboratories, Inc., a 2020 Rochester Top Workplace, is a woman-owned small business that specializes in the design and manufacture of advanced tactical and strategic communications solutions with a focus on security, reliability, and interoperability. REDCOM’s customers include all branches of the military, government agencies, emergency responders, integrators, and telecom service providers.

About the Monroe County Office of Emergency Management

As the County Executive’s Emergency Manager, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) maintains and administers an integrated Emergency Management program designed to assure a safe environment through prevention/mitigation, readiness, response, and recovery. The OEM plans and coordinates with government and non-government agencies for rapid response in an emergency, and assists towns and villages in the preparation of their emergency response plans.

Response to: Catastrophic disasters could hit millions of Americans in the coming years. What can the Army do?

| January 9, 2020

A recent article published in the ArmyTimes highlights how the U.S. is under imminent threat of various domestic catastrophic incidents ranging from earthquakes and hurricanes to mass attacks. In this eventuality, it points out how Army entities such as the Army National Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. Army North will be called on to mobilize and provide massive amounts of resources in coordination with local organizations. While the article does a great job showcasing the scale and preparation required for these recovery operations, it does not touch on one of the most crucial challenges in disaster response: establishing communications.

Re-establishing basic local communications on an infrastructure that may have been disabled or severely damaged is a challenge in of itself only to be further complicated by the need to integrate numerous response agencies into a single cohesive network. The rescue phase of the response will require as much communication capability as responders can bring to bear. Achieving this feat requires a flexible switching system, capable of multiple transmission paths, to function as the core network. REDCOM Early-Entry Command and Control (E2C2) capability provides a communications bridge between disparate networks designed for such large-scale domestic events.

 

Quick deployable comms

Establishing communications is critical and doing it in a timely and efficient manner is imperative. In a catastrophic domestic incident, the Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA) will play a vital role in ensuring the most successful outcome. The dual role of the U.S. Military, specifically the National Guard and Reserve Units, creates an operational challenge for leaders.  Traditional deployments include training and planning operations with lengthy ramp-up times. No-notice events are counter to the conventional activation process. The Rapid Response Planning Process (R2P2) aims to shorten mission planning and mobilization into a condensed six-hour process.  Even with doctrine to address no-notice missions, the practical application to the homeland United States has proven to be historically difficult and slow in the context of rescue operations.

Look at Hurricane Katrina as an example. According to the Army, paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne were on the ground in seven hours. While extraordinarily fast for a deployment, in the context of a critical incident with a significant impact on life safety, seven hours put responding units up against a diminishing timeline. Domestically, our military assets maintain a reduced profile and low force readiness posture. To be truly prepared in the critical aftermath period, our military assets must be able to mobilize and communicate as soon as they hit the ground. Easy to use and operate Early-Entry Command and Control (E2C2) systems will make or break the effectiveness of the response. With a strong focus on RF communications in the initial response period, the ability to bridge radio networks in a field-expedient manner is a critical requirement of the deployed communications system. REDCOM embraces this concept with a quick deployable comms package that utilizes donor radios to link networks. With this approach, the field responder can establish communications without IT staff or radio technicians.

Additionally, the approach allows each network to maintain its equipment and frequencies with encryption facilitated by individual donor radios. Military units, first responders, federal resources, and non-government (NGO) entities all operate on their own communications networks and hardware. With so many disparate systems, at a minimum, a bridge must be established to allow for basic RF interoperability. Operating as a local PBX within the denied environment, the REDCOM equipment can not only establish the required RF interoperability, but also integrate RF, wireline, satcom, VOIP, and LTE networks into a single communications ecosystem.

 

Hurricane Maria

Hurricane Maria, which resulted in significant critical infrastructure damage, exemplifies an event where an E2C2 system would significantly aid responders. If a REDCOM deployable comms package was inserted into the command and control network in the immediate aftermath, the surviving P25 radio network and remaining telecommunications (cellular and wire-line) services could have been bridged. This would have established communications greater number of responders quicker.  Later, as infrastructure was restored and rebuilt, the REDCOM network would expand with the growth, eliminating the need to rip and replace an established core every time a new system is installed. Additionally, the REDCOM comms system could introduce LTE cells for response communication, thus increasing the available hardware. In a future event similar to the scale of Hurricane Maria, the benefit of a REDCOM quick deployable comms system is the ability to quickly and easily provide call control in disconnected environments while allowing for backhaul methods to be employed as they come online.

 

Intuitive & easy to use

REDCOM believes C2 communications should be as intuitive and easy to use as possible. Our systems re-establish communications quickly and give responders the power to bridge disparate networks and technologies. All of which supports the recovery operation as it fights a rapidly diminishing timeline to rescue lives. Combined with our storied history supporting military communications, these capabilities make REDCOM the first choice for communicating in a crisis.

REDCOM successfully demonstrates interoperability with Software Defined Radio technology at Air Force Research Labs

| October 9, 2019

REDCOM Laboratories Inc., a leading developer of advanced communications solutions, has successfully completed extensive interoperability testing following a week-long exercise at the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) in Rome, NY and Stockbridge, NY.

The exercise involved multiple test scenarios leveraging the AFRL high-capacity software-defined radio (SDR) network, a flexible, high capacity network running on Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) hardware. It can be established quickly and managed dynamically, with the ability to load new radio waveforms in software to adapt to changing situations on the ground. During this week of testing, REDCOM was able to demonstrate its switching and conferencing platforms in a U.S. Air Force testing environment designed to emulate a real-life emergency response scenario.

Fred Elliot demonstrating REDCOM equipment at AFRL.

“This exercise provided the opportunity for us to work closely with other technology vendors to successfully deploy REDCOM products over a high-speed next-generation software-defined radio network using off-the-shelf components,” said Fred Elliot, Business Development Manager, Solution Architecture, REDCOM. “We leveraged rapid advancement in SDR technology, proving that REDCOM can continue to provide mission-critical communications for first responders on tomorrow’s SDR networks.”

REDCOM solutions were installed in shelters at multiple locations at the Stockbridge site as well as a simulated Tactical Operations Center in Rome, NY. Not only did REDCOM test its capacity over SDR, but the team also tested interoperability with analog lines, magneto field phones, business-band land mobile radios, P25 radios, and LTE endpoints. “We set up the REDCOM communications gear quickly, using the same kind of workflow we’d use in a disaster response situation,” said Kal Baumwart, Strategic Manager, RF, REDCOM. “We couldn’t be happier with the results. We look forward to leveraging what we learned into future solutions for the first responder market.”

Moving forward, REDCOM intends to work with the AFRL as well as other partners to expand its solution set to ensure maximum interoperability in public safety scenarios. “This exercise showcased new technology in a seamless partnership with AFRL to deliver agile interoperable voice connections across multiple wireless devices in a multi-site scenario,” remarked Michael Gudaitis, AFRL. “Twenty years ago, I worked with REDCOM to deliver voice-bridging radio capability to first responders. Then, as now, REDCOM delivers great products with exceptional service.”

 

About REDCOM

Based in Victor, NY, REDCOM Laboratories, Inc. is a woman-owned small business that specializes in the design and manufacture of advanced communications solutions with a focus on security, reliability, and interoperability. REDCOM’s customers include all branches of the military, government agencies, emergency responders, integrators, and enterprises. For additional information, please visit the REDCOM website at https://www.redcom.com.

 

About Air Force Research Laboratory

AFRL leads the discovery, development, and delivery of warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace forces. They are pushing the boundaries and creating a new tomorrow through unparalleled research. Their commitment to innovation gives them the drive to constantly push the envelope and deliver the technology that keeps them prepared for the future. For more information, visit their website at https://afresearchlab.com.