By Donny Jackson
Tait Communications and Frequentis recently announced a strategic partnership that gives Tait Communications exclusive access in North America to the Frequentis LifeX software solution that is designed to integrate digital and analog radio systems, as well as provide a migration path to a host of future technologies.
Tait Communications CEO and Managing Director Yoram Benit said representatives from the two companies have been discussing a potential partnership for more than a year, and the agreement was signed on March 25. The notion of partnering with Frequentis gained momentum after Tait personnel in Australia reviewed the LifeX solution closely, he said.
“They looked at the Frequentis solution … and found out that Frequentis is really, really solid,” Benit said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications conducted during the IWCE 2024 event in Orlando. “It’s an amazing solution with call-taking, 911 and the future—next-generation 911 and mission-critical push to talk is there and is ready.
“It is a great deal for both of us. From their perspective, it gets them [Frequentis] into North America. From our perspective, we now have a solution—a Tait solution. We’ll keep the LifeX name. It’s going to say ‘Tait,’ but we’ll mention Frequentis—we’ll say, ‘by Frequentis.’”
Benit said that the Frequentis LifeX solutions has completed the Project 25 (P25) Compliance Assessment Program (CAP) with Tait’s core system, noting that the total package is “working perfectly” in testing to date. A Tait press release notes describes the LifeX “Unified P25 Gateway” as “the first standalone console certified under the Project 25 (P25) Compliance Assessment Programme (CAP) with Console Subsystem Interface (CSSI) testing performed on the Tait P25 TN9400 node controller and listed on the P25 CAP Approved Equipment List.”
Robert Nitsch, vice president of public safety at Frequentis, expressed his company’s enthusiasm about the Tait partnership, which is the first reseller agreement for Frequentis.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Tait Communications to launch our LifeX collaboration and communication platform in North America,” Nitsch said in a prepared statement. “This demonstrates our commitment to delivering mission-critical communication solutions, enhancing efficiency, flexibility, and reliability on the global public safety market.”
Under the new agreement, Tait Communications has exclusive rights to resell LifeX in North America, but Benit said he does not believe the business between the companies necessarily will be limited to the North America continent.
“In other countries, they [Frequentis officials] feel that they are very well positioned,” Benit said. “However, if we find a customer for them [outside of North America], they wouldn’t resist that. They would be fine with that.”
LifeX is designed to “seamlessly integrate” communications from various analog and digital LMR systems, as well as accommodate technologies like mission-critical data (MCData), 911 and next-generation 911 (NG911), according to a press release about the partnership. LifeX won the Critical Communications Association Control Room Innovation award in 2022, the press release states.
Benit said that the LifeX platform from Frequentis is popular among European control rooms and fills a gap in Tait Communications’ existing portfolio of public-safety offerings.
“We do have a console that we have developed, but it’s … kind of a low-tier product,” Benit said. “With LifeX from Frequentis, it takes us to the next level—head-to-head with [competitors].”
Tait Communications President Kevin Sumrell echoed this sentiment.
“Frequentis and its unique LifeX technology give Tait the ability to offer more complete solutions for our customers, meet more of their requirements and minimize the technology complexity that they face,” Sumrell said in a prepared statement. “Together we will change the public-safety technology market in North America.”
Benit said he believes that the LifeX software also will be appealing to sectors beyond public safety.
“It [LifeX] has the entire package, so we think it’s going to be very good for public safety,” Benit said. “But at the same time, it’s going to be good for utilities and so forth.”
Terms of the deal were not announced.
