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Argonne National Laboratory Improves Safety Communication with Sprint and Raytheon JPS Communications' Advanced Wireless Technology
ACU-1000™ System Allows Radio Interoperability at a Lower Cost with Nextel's Digital Walkie-Talkie Service
RALEIGH, N.C. and RESTON, Va., Nov. 1, 2005 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) JPS Communications and Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced that Argonne National Laboratory, one of the U.S. Department of Energy's largest research centers, has improved its radio communications and safety readiness.
With the deployment of Raytheon JPS' ACU-1000 system and the proven instant communication capability of Nextel Walkie-Talkie to provide an automatic and permanent connection to the Argonne Labs trunking system, Argonne Labs personnel, Argonne Labs Area Emergency Supervisors (AES), and local fire departments can communicate with one another in times of need via the ACU-1000 from their disparate radio systems.
Argonne safety regulations require AES to be notified whenever there is any incident at a building on its 1,500-acre campus in DuPage County, Ill. With more than 100 buildings, there are several hundred AES employees often with a secondary and tertiary contact for each building. The cost to outfit each AES with a trunking portable radio was costly, prompting the need for a cost effective method of communication that provided ease of use for employees.
"The use of the ACU-1000 paired with the Nextel Walkie-Talkie technology enabled Argonne National Laboratory to implement an interoperability solution quickly and affordably that also complemented its existing Land Mobile Radio network," said Sandy Waters, vice president of sales and marketing for Raytheon JPS Communications.
With the new technology, different radio systems can be plugged into the ACU switch, and the Nextel Walkie-Talkie audio stream is translated between radio systems and enhanced with JPS' digital signal processing technology. The AES simply dials the Nextel Walkie-Talkie number assigned to the ACU-1000 and is instantly connected to the emergency talk group on the Argonne Labs trunking system. In addition to the main fire dispatch center, any firefighter on the system can communicate with the appropriate AES on their Nextel phones from Sprint.
"Interoperability is a major concern at the Lab, and the combined technology gives us the ability to interact with various parties when and wherever we need to," said Vic Omiecinski, wireless manager for Argonne.
"Sprint partners with Raytheon JPS Communications to enable interoperability between systems and to give our customers the advantage of instant communication at an affordable cost in those times of need," said Susan Nelson, vice president of alliances and partnerships for Sprint. "We know the value integrated solutions can have in bridging the communications gap and helping organizations provide critical information on demand."
On the grounds of Argonne Labs, interoperability between all necessary parties is key in aiding in multiple types of coordinated response efforts, whether it is among fellow employees or with other members of the first responder community.
About Raytheon JPS Communications
Raytheon JPS Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Raytheon Company, designs, manufactures and sells electronic hardware and software products that enhance the effectiveness of communications systems. The company's mission is to extend communications capabilities through the use of advanced digital technology. Headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., the company's focus is on Radio Interconnect Products. Raytheon JPS offers unsurpassed local, regional, state, and wide-area interoperability by linking radios (HF, UHF, & VHF), SATCOM, cellular, WiFi and regular phones directly and over networks.
Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), with 2004 sales of $20.2 billion, is an industry leader in defense and government electronics, space, information technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 80,000 people worldwide.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business and government customers. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two robust wireless networks offering industry leading mobile data services; instant national and international walkie-talkie capabilities; and an award-winning and global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit http://www.sprint.com/.
About Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory, chartered in 1946 as the nation's first national laboratory, supports upwards of 200 research projects, ranging from studies of the atomic nucleus to global climate change research with an annual operating budget of about $475 million. The laboratory has about 2,900 employees, including about 1,000 scientists and engineers, of whom about 600 hold doctorate degrees. Since 1990, Argonne Labs has worked with more than 600 companies and numerous federal agencies and other organizations. Argonne Labs' site occupies 1,500 wooded acres, is surrounded by forest preserve about 25 miles southwest of Chicago's Loop, and houses the U.S. Department of Energy's Chicago Operations Office.
Media Contacts: Katie Willis Raytheon JPS Communications 919.865.1036 katie.willis@jps.com Cheryl Hawkins Sprint 703.433.4276 cheryl.hawkins@sprint.com Catherine Foster Argonne National Laboratory 630.252.5580 cfoster@anl.gov
SOURCE: Raytheon Company
CONTACT: Katie Willis of Raytheon JPS Communications, +1-919-865-1036,
katie.willis@jps.com; or Cheryl Hawkins of Sprint, +1-703-433-4276,
cheryl.hawkins@sprint.com; or Catherine Foster of Argonne National Laboratory,
+1-630-252-5580, cfoster@anl.gov