Raytheon Co. highlights non-proprietary approach to public safety at APCO

PHILADELPHIA — The old model of simply selling equipment to government and public safety agencies is no longer the right way of doing things, Bill Iannaci, director of civil communications solutions at Raytheon Co. (RTN), told RCR Wireless News here at APCO International Annual Conference and Expo.
Iannaci’s group at Raytheon is growing more than 20% a year, he said, with much of that growth coming as it wins business away from competitors. He reiterated the company’s open solutions approach, adding that the company is not focused exclusively on selling Raytheon equipment and systems.
“We will never sell you something proprietary as new,” he said, but if a customer has a pre-existing proprietary system in place, Raytheon will work to support that system and integrate with that customer’s needs.
Raytheon also made a series of announcements here at the annual public safety industry gathering. The company debuted its interoperable server system with digital and analog interfaces for legacy FM radio, P25 and LTE. The new system enables public safety officials to stay connected regardless of the technology in use across disjointed agencies.
“Interoperability in a large-scale disaster is critical,” Iannacci said. “Raytheon’s interoperable server solution promotes customer choice, as it integrates the existing equipment of each city and has built-in ability to support next-generation communications technology. This allows municipalities to upgrade hardware, from their preferred vendors, as budgets allow.”
The company also announced that it has successfully integrated and tested its P25net land mobile radio with the Zetron Acom digital dispatch control system. And finally, Raytheon announced a contract win in Rock County, Wis., that will include a 20-site P25 digital land mobile radio system spanning across public safety and municipal services in the county and stretching across more than 700 miles.