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SkyPort Signs Contract with Cisco For Emergency Response Satellite Connectivity
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Nov. 7, 2007 – HOUSTON, TX – SkyPort Global Communications has signed a contract with Cisco Systems Inc. to provide satellite connectivity for Cisco’s Emergency Response Networks (ERN) service.
Cisco’s ERN service provides emergency voice, video, and Internet connectivity for first responders during disasters where terrestrial communication is unavailable or disrupted. Cisco maintains two mobile command and control centers on the east and west coasts of the United States which can be deployed to a disaster site on a moment’s notice to become a command center for personnel managing the response to the disaster.
“Cisco is one of the world’s leaders in creating and managing highly-complex networks, and SkyPort is proud to be chosen as the partner in this critical effort,” said Patrick Brant, president and CEO of SkyPort Global. “The pairing of Cisco’s ERN service with our ground infrastructure will enable seamless satellite communications for those responding to disasters anywhere in the country.”
The contract culminates two years of work by Cisco and SkyPort to develop a highly-efficient, reliable satellite backhaul network to provide this crucial service. When in use, the command centers will transmit and receive voice, data and video communications using satellites linked through SkyPort’s award-winning teleport and network operations center in Houston.
Each of the two ERN mobile command centers are equipped with the latest Cisco technology, including the company’s high-definition video conferencing solution, Telepresence. In addition, each command center uses Cisco’s IP Interoperability Collaboration System (IPICS) to provide radio interoperability for emergency first responders. The IPICS software, embedded in routers and other parts of the network, creates a single communications platform out of radio, IP, and non-IP networks, such as landlines and mobile emergency service radio technologies.About SkyPort Global Communications, Inc.
SkyPort is a global communications carrier providing managed, secure, broadband satellite and terrestrial communication services to a range of government and enterprise clients. With its global network, engineering expertise, and owned infrastructure at the highly secure Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base in Houston, SkyPort exceeds the security and reliability standards of its clients. SkyPort was honored by the World Teleport Association as the fastest-growing teleport operator in 2006 and received the National Guard's Minuteman award in 2005 for outstanding disaster support during Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.