First responder radio gains U.S. approval

Thales Communications, Inc. reports its first-responder Liberty Multi-band Land Mobile Radio has passed Fire radio testing by the U.S. Department of Interior.The product previously received Interior Department Radio Technical Service Center approvals for Law Enforcement and Tiers 1, 2 and 3. The Liberty radio is fully approved for sale to the department.Thales said Liberty LMR's Project 25 Over-the-Air-Rekey has been completed and tested by TSC, adding capabilities for the Law Enforcement Tier.The Liberty LMR is a software-defined radio solution that enables interoperability across all public safety bands (136-174, 380-520, 700, 800 MHz), linking government agencies and first responders with a single portable radio. It operates in Project 25 conventional, P25 trunked, and legacy analog modes with Output Feedback Data Encryption Standard and Advanced Encryption Standard.The radio, which was Factory Mutual certified Intrinsic Safe earlier this year, is manufactured at the company's Clarksburg, Md., headquarters."Department of Interior fire and law enforcement personnel now have a fully approved, multi-band radio," said Michael Sheehan, president and chief executive officer of Thales Communications Inc. "The Liberty radio is a complete solution and is in the field today serving our nation's first responders."