[11-08-07 – Satellite Today] SkyPort Global Communications will provide satellite connectivity for Cisco Systems Inc.’s Emergency Response Networks (ERN) service, SkyPort announced Nov. 7.
    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.
    Each of the two ERN mobile command centers is 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.