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Avaya Intros Mobile Emergency Communication Units
TMCnet Contributing Editor
Federal Communications Commission (FCC (News - Alert))'s chairman Kevin J. Martin has called for communications systems that are capable of rapid deployment. The agency's rep made this request on the heels of the devastation caused by natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina.
In comes Avaya responding to this call on Monday by introducing its new Mobile Communication System (MCS), a set of communications units specifically designed for use in mobile or temporary locations.
"Often the biggest challenge in actual disasters is the lack of available and flexible communication systems," said Steve Hailey, senior consultant, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery, Avaya (News - Alert) in a statement. "Governments and businesses can no longer afford to let disaster communication systems be something nice to have, these are a must-have. Avaya's new Mobile Communication System will keep organizations communicating in the worst possible situations."
The Avaya MCS will enable businesses and public sector organizations to quickly set up command centers with complete, secure voice and data communications to support business continuity, disaster response and recovery, or short-term events.
Arlington County Fire Department, the primary First Responder to the Pentagon on 9/11, is now equipped with a Mobile Command Unit which is a fully-equipped office-on-wheels. The unit chose to adopt the MCS for its voice and data capabilities, and because it automatically searches among landline, microwave, three cellular providers, Internet and satellite networks for the best and least cost available network to connect users to the public switched telephone network. Avaya IP desktop telephones support each of the 12 inside workstations, with Avaya IP Wireless telephones ready to carry when the Incident Commander needs to be more mobile on the scene.
The MCS can be up and running in less than an hour. The system bundles IP telephony via the Avaya Communication Manager or Avaya one-X Quick Edition with basic voice messaging, data networking, and connectivity to a variety of networks including landline, radio, cellular, satellite, microwave, WiFi (News - Alert), data, cable modem or DSL. A number of options are also available for pre-configured and custom versions, including wireless IP phones, VPN appliances, wireless access points and satellite uplink equipment to broaden the unit's capabilities
The MCS is priced between $28,000 and $49,800, including phones, uninterruptible power supply and all components from the rugged case to the staging costs. The system is scheduled to be available in North America in early June through Avaya direct and channel sales.
TASKE Contact allows enterprises to report on inbound, outbound and internal call activity; monitor call center agent performance levels; and provide managers with the ability to respond immediately to changing call volume and agent availability. The application was compliance-tested by Avaya for compatibility with the company's Communication Manager IP telephony software.
Avaya, Inc.
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Johanne Torres is contributing editor for TMCnet and Internet Telephony magazine. To see more articles by Johanne Torres, please visit Johanne Torres' columnist page
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