For the first time crossing points at Poland’s Eastern borders are equipped with Voice over WLAN (VoWLAN) telephony and video surveillance

Warsaw – 22 April, 2010. NextiraOne and Cisco have today announced that they have completed a major deployment to extend and support the Polish Border Guard information technology and communications platform. The project was co-financed by the European Union’s Outer Borders Fund.

Under the scope of the project, NextiraOne experts have installed a dedicated Cisco® wireless infrastructure for border crossing points, providing Voice over wireless local area network (VoWLAN) communications and Wi-Fi mesh technology for the fourteen Border Guard posts located along Poland’s borders with Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

The Polish Border Guard deployment will provide a far more integrated communications experience for officers working across disparate locations. The use of voice over WLAN and the integration of the Cisco IP Interoperability and Communications System (IPICS) for push-to-talk communications aims at increasing responsiveness and further enhance safety and security.

The new infrastructure also includes a physical security solution featuring video monitoring from Axis Communications and NICE Systems’ voice recording of wireless telephony at the crossing points. This flexible implementation will allow the integration of the new wireless phone system with existing analog radiophones.

Colonel Wojciech Lechowski, the spokesperson for the Main Commanding Officer of the Polish Border Guard said: “Poland’s Eastern border is one of the longest stretches of external border in the European Union. We needed a partner who could deliver an innovative solution to meet our tough requirements in these often remote locations. NextiraOne was able to offer, design and implement a solution that upgrades the system to provide added security and surveillance along our borders, through the integration of innovative Cisco technology with the existing infrastructure.”

The wireless platform includes two highly innovative solutions, integrated for the first time with each other for the specific use of the Border Guard in Poland: IPICS and a Wi-Fi mesh system. Wi-Fi mesh is an outdoor wireless solution that allows the Border Guard to extend its IP network to areas where access to a wired network is technically impossible or difficult to implement.
 
Cisco IPICS provides communications interoperability between wired and wireless networks, by extending push-to-talk (PTT) to IP networks. IPICS is basically turning wireless IP phones into universal voice communication devices, thanks to an XML client which is running on the Cisco phones.

All implemented indoor and outdoor wireless solutions are based on the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, which provides high scalability and helps simplify the centralised management of the infrastructure. Moreover the deployment features a Cisco Unified Communications over WLAN (VoWLAN with Cisco IP phones) solution that provides high quality communication services, extending wired corporate telephony networks outside buildings and facilities. In the future, this flexible implementation will help the integration of the new wireless phone system with existing analog radio phones.

The Cisco wireless infrastructure is based on advanced Cisco technology including IEEE 802.11n and demonstrates Cisco’s leadership in RF excellence for indoor wireless access. The 802.11n standard improves the reliability of 802.11 communications and provides up to nine times the throughput of 802.11a/g networks. 802.11n provides reliable and very fast connections to Wi-Fi for voice and video streaming, and delivers the capacity and performance to serve future demands on the wireless network.

“Public sector agencies and other organisations that are responsible for preparing for and responding to emergency situations are finding themselves in the midst of a technology revolution. Incident response now involves modern networks, computers, and other devices in addition to the commonly used Land Mobile Radio. We are especially proud of the fact that many of the innovative technologies utilised by the Polish Border Guard have been introduced for the first time in Poland. These solutions increase the efficiency and effectiveness of border checks and contribute significantly to improving safety along the borders,” said Paweł Malak, General Manager Cisco Poland.

NextiraOne, Europe’s leading expert in communications services and a Cisco Gold Certified Partner, implemented the solution and integrated these technologies with the existing infrastructure. NextiraOne is also delivering training for system users and ongoing support and maintenance of the system.

Marek Kobielski, General Manager, NextiraOne Poland said: “This project builds on our strong existing relationship with the Polish Border Guard and our unrivaled expertise in the Public Sector.  We are proud to be able to provide innovative solutions which are helping to secure the borders of Poland and the European Union.”

NextiraOne has worked with the Polish Border Guard for many years. In 2003 the company implemented, alongside Telekomunikacja Polska, a new IP telephony network across 12 regional divisions and covering more than 300 Border Guard posts. Based on Cisco technology, the integrated voice and data network was the biggest IP implementation in Europe at the time and the largest single outsourcing project in the Polish public sector.