Cisco IPICS to link two-way radios via VoIP

Cisco Systems has launched a networking platform designed to allow two-way radios to communicate via VoIP, bridging different technologies and allowing companies and public agencies to use existing radios and other devices to communicate with other networks. The system, Cisco IP Interoperability and Collaboration System (IPICS), uses a gateway that relays transmissions from two-way radios over the internet, connecting them both to other radios, as well as to cellular networks, landlines and data networks. Cisco has been testing the system with major public agencies such as the Port of Elizabeth in New Jersey, and has also been working with Sprint Nextel to make sure that it can interoperate with that company's popular push-to-talk phones.