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Exalt Microwave Backhaul Systems Connect Emergency Communications for Rock County, Wisconsin

Rock County Communications Center relies on Exalt to unify land mobile radio, voice, mobile data, and Wi-Fi hotspot services for first responders while cutting costs

CAMPBELL, Calif. — Exalt Communications today announced that the Rock County Communications Center in Rock County, WI is using Exalt microwave backhaul systems to unify emergency communications services across the county’s 720 square miles and enable the center to quickly migrate its backhaul network to all-digital while dramatically reducing equipment costs.

The center supports 26 police, fire, and EMS agencies and is the only CALEA-accredited center in the state of Wisconsin (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies). The Exalt backhaul network supports voice, mobile data, Wi-Fi hotspot services, and the center’s new P25 land mobile radio (LMR) system from Raytheon. The network is built on Exalt ExtendAir all-outdoor microwave systems using the 4.9 GHz and 18 GHz frequency bands, and supports most sites at 100 Mbps. Exalt partner General Communications installed the network, helping the center meet the rigorous uptime and resiliency requirements to maintain its longstanding CALEA accreditation.

“Exalt’s engineering recommendations have always been right, so we decided to use Exalt systems to replace our old T1 lines to save money, provide more stable connectivity, and do more with increased bandwidth,” said David Sleeter, director of the Rock County Communications Center. “We expect five 9s of uptime, and we’ve gotten it. Right now we’re working to migrate all our backhaul traffic to IP with the same uptime and reliability we’ve grown to expect from Exalt. That work is planned for this summer, and in the future, we see it supporting new services like in-car video for our police force.”

“Government regulations are pushing public safety agencies to unify their communications infrastructures with an eye toward system interoperability, but this creates new challenges for reliability, redundancy, and cost,” said Mark Davis, Exalt sr. director of product marketing. “For agencies like the Rock County Communications Center, one infrastructure has to serve it all. If the backhaul network goes down, they can’t rely on switching over to separate fire or police systems. We built Exalt systems to meet this challenge and deliver the stringent performance, security, and network availability requirements of public safety agencies while decreasing their backhaul network costs.”

About Exalt Communications
Exalt Communications provides next-generation microwave backhaul systems to mobile operators, service providers, government agencies, and enterprises worldwide. Exalt systems are designed to solve the network bottlenecks associated with the growing demand for IP-based voice, data, and video applications and the resulting migration from TDM to IP-based networks. With a flexible architecture and universal product platform covering multiple market segments, Exalt provides a full range of microwave backhaul systems that meet the demand for cost-effective and flexible alternatives to fiber and leased lines. www.exaltcom.com

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