Cambridge Consultants completes trials for US defence communications system

The DTCS is said to be the world's largest push to talk (PTT) radio system and is used by the DoD to enable soldiers to communicate in areas of poor geostationary satellite signal or without the need for ground infrastructure. Data can be exchanged with command centres across the globe at the touch of a button. Cambridge Consultants has developed radio transceiver electronics for the DTCS handheld radios, as well as gateway infrastructure to support the DTCS service which target a 'five nines' (99.999%) reliability rating, to ensure soldiers have service when they need it most. "Cambridge Consultants has a proven track record of developing technically challenging and 'mission critical' communications technologies, and bringing them to operational readiness quickly," said Lt Gen John Campbell, Iridium executive vice president for government programs. The new technology developed by Cambridge Consultants includes advanced software radio functionality that will provide multiple receiver capability and rapid synchronisation to Iridium satellites to enhance PTT connection speed and call quality. Richard Traherne, head of the wireless division at Cambridge Consultants, said: "We have been working with Iridium since 2003 as its design partner, and are excited to be extending our long term relationship on this groundbreaking project. We look forward to supporting Iridium and its client – the US DoD – in launching the largest global PTT network."