Parallel Wireless and Ecosystem Partners Announce General Availability of FirstNet-Ready Band 14-in-a-Box

Parallel Wireless, Inc., the pioneer in making cellular network deployments as easy and as cost-effective as Wi-Fi, today announces general availability of an easy-to-deploy Band 14 Public Safety LTE network kit at a fraction of the cost of currently available solutions. U.S. Public Safety agencies can win a week's rental of this DIY Band 14-in-a-Box kit by submitting their interest here or at Parallel Wireless booth 227 at IWCE which will allow them to gain a firsthand experience in the summer of 2016 on how easy it is to deploy this kit.

This ultra-compact, lightweight LTE network is the industry's first ready-in-minutes plug-'n'-play 3GPP-compliant solution capable of delivering mission-critical voice and data. By being self-configuring and self-optimizing, this DIY Band 14-in-a-box provides the emergency services community with the most adaptable, resilient, and cost-effective infrastructure for wireless coverage during large public events and natural or man-made disasters.

The Band 14-in-a-box network kit leverages the following components:

• Breakthrough virtualized RAN (vRAN) solution by Parallel Wireless capable of not only self-organization and self-optimization, but also capable of using any type of backhaul or performing in an ad hoc mode when there is no backhaul available to deliver resilient coverage anywhere. Parallel Wireless fully orchestrated RAN hardware does not require an additional cabinet, cooling or shelter and can run on any power.
• Ultra-rugged smartphones from Sonim Technologies with unparalleled battery life, powerful audio and great visibility outdoors in direct sunlight. The LTE Android smartphones can be paired with accessories to allow for more effective and efficient communication integrated with mission-critical applications.
• The industry's most mature virtualized Enhanced Packet Core (vEPC) and Push-To-Talk (PTT) software for the kit to establish secure command and control on the move anywhere for sending and receiving video, transferring files, sending text messages, and enabling instant group communications from any location: http://blogs.cisco.com/government/cisco-partners-with-parallel-wireless-on-deploy-it-yourself-diy-kit-to-help-mission-critical-public-safety-agencies-to-deploy-band-14-tactical-operations
• A disaster-proven Home Subscriber Server (HSS) Athonet to support mobility management, call and session setup, user authentication and access authorization.
• Secure group collaboration capabilities with real-time radio, video and telephone communications including LMR to LTE interoperability, a winner of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Interoperability Test Command certification for both Information Assurance and Interoperability from Mutualink
• A ruggedized, compact LTE to Wi-Fi router from BEC Technologies that easily connects to Parallel Wireless' base stations and provides Wi-Fi hotspot access to public safety personnel.

Hill County, MT sheriff at CAUSE III exercise said. "I installed the network myself under 10 minutes. It went seamlessly, easy to install and no problem whatsoever."

TX National Guard at Winter Institute exercise said. "Parallel Wireless Band 14 gear was one of the simplest gears that we had to plug in ever. Just power it up – quite simple."

Steve Kropper, vice president, public safety, Parallel Wireless, said, "Thanks to all of these ecosystem partners, we are able to meet the communication needs of public safety agencies to execute on the FirstNet vision of a fully interoperable Public Safety LTE network that is easy to deploy and maintain. Eliminating the need for months of planning and heavy, expensive equipment, our Public Safety LTE solution allows first responders to build their networks at 80% less cost."

Robert Escalle, vice president, public safety, Sonim said, "We welcome this partnership as a unique way of spearheading FirstNet efforts. We are building a powerful technology ecosystem that will launch first responders into the 21st century and make them more effective, efficient and safer. Together, we can make Public Safety LTE a reality with easy-to-deploy cost-effective mission critical communications solutions."

Stefano Cocco, head of sales, Athonet, said, "Athonet's award-winning software-based mobile core was one of the first LTE deployments in a real emergency during the Italian earthquake in May 2012.Today, Athonet's solutions are deployed by public safety organizations across the world, including the recent deployment by the Finnish public safety organizations. It is exciting to be a part of this Band 14-in-a-box solution that helps to address the needs of FirstNet in the U.S."

Joe Boucher, CTO, Mutualink, said, "Mutualink credits its technology partners for the successful Super Bowl 50 deployment where we showcased teamwork at its finest to provide secure, reliable communications for mission-critical homeland security and law enforcement needs. With this DIY Band 14-in-a-box, we are giving emergency managers and public safety officials a better, cost-effective way to communicate across the U.S. during a crisis."

Andy Germano, vice president, business development, BEC, said. "As public safety agencies evolve to voice and data solutions, it is important to give them the broadband connectivity they need to do their jobs and save lives. We are pleased to collaborate with the multi-vendor Band-14-in-a-box ecosystem delivering the Wi-Fi hotspot in-vehicle capabilities. Moreover, this kit is built on interoperability principles that is a critical need for FirstNet."

The DIY Band 14-in-a-box, commercially available June 2016, will be demonstrated at IWCE, March 23–24, in Las Vegas in Parallel Wireless booth #227. Public Safety agencies can enter on-line or at IWCE for a chance to win a week's rental of the DIY Band 14-in-a-Box in the summer of 2016 to experience for themselves how easy it is to deploy this joint solution.