Business Overview
In Minnesota, one of the country’s top-ranked utility companies services over 141,000 homes and businesses, providing reliable power at competitive prices. As a customer-owned electric cooperative, they are led by an elected Board of Directors, with their members (the residents and businesses they serve) voting for the Board annually. Together, they make decisions regarding the direction of the utility, including its communications infrastructure.
The Challenge | Replacing An Aging System with Future-Ready Technology
When the FCC mandated narrowbanding in 2013, the electric company knew it needed to upgrade their aging analog system to meet requirements. At this time, they also decided to review their existing – and nearly obsolete – dispatch console. Since not all employees needed to carry a radio, they wanted to find a way to connect their entire workforce through a single communications platform while still being able to deliver a high level of service to customers.
The Solution | Motorola WAVE Transforms PTT Utility Communications
Ideally, the company wanted to find a solution that was less dependent on proprietary hardware and had the flexibility to extend Push To Talk (PTT) to other networks and devices.
They found their ideal solution in Motorola’s WAVE Work Group Communication. WAVE not only offered them the ability to upgrade their dispatch console but also allowed them to make PTT available to their entire workforce – anyone, anywhere, on any device.
Combined with their upgrade to MOTOTRBO digital radios, which replaced their analog system, they can now communicate with any other radio or broadband device. Everything from a smartphone to a desktop PC can now become a PTT device.
The Wave Advanced Desktop Communicator is a richly-featured dispatch console that operates from a standard PC and eliminates the need for a hardware console. Meanwhile, the WAVE Mobile Communicator is an app that turns any Android or Apple device into a multi-channel radio handset for secure PTT communication.
The Result | Increased Utility Productivity and Efficiency
With Motorola WAVE Work Group Communications, the company has not only streamlined its communications and upgraded its dispatch console, but they’ve also future-proofed its technology.
By eliminating the need for specific hardware, they have a more flexible and scalable solution that can be upgraded with software updates rather than expensive hardware replacements.
The Team
For over 30 years, MCA has provided expertly tailored communications solutions to contractors and builders in need of two-way radios, job-site connectivity, and wireless signal enhancement systems. Our team provides top-tier support for every aspect of your business and mission-critical communications projects from start to finish. Our engineers assess your needs, design custom solutions, and install systems that fit your organization’s exacting requirements.