-
April 29, 2014The Internet of Things (IoT) is a topic that continues to garner media attention by the terabyte. Now the IoT is moving beyond the trade journals and industry blogs to find a place in more mainstream publications. The Huffington Post recently took a look at the IoT, and it reached out to BearCom for some perspective. Business at the Dawn of the Internet of Things by Huffington Post contributor James Moore makes the point that, "Adoption of the IoT as an inevitability also begins to create new business for technology companies as other key markets approach the slowdown caused by saturation. Consumers and the general public may not even be aware of the beginning of the IoT or consider it a potential reality, but hardware and software manufacturers are already seeing its economic
-
April 23, 2014Security is big business in America, with estimated annual revenues of $350 billion. The federal government alone spends nearly $70 billion a year on homeland security. Despite those big dollar figures, security organizations are always looking for force multipliers, and many turn to wireless technology.Wireless equipment and devices have a long track record as effective force multipliers. They also deliver discretion, mobility, and improved coordination—all key issues for an industry that continues to refine the balance between vigilance and visibility. Meanwhile, the security industry finds itself with a new responsibility: the protection of information. "Security organizations are well known for their ability to provide physical security," said Hugh Johnston, Product & Purchasing Manager at BearCom. "But increasingly, they have become responsible for securing not only those physical locations, but also the information they house. As they do this,
-
March 26, 2014The wireless industry takes its latest technologies to the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE), and this year was no exception as Motorola Solutions and Icom America both arrived in Las Vegas with new products. Motorola Solutions used IWCE, the wireless industry's largest annual gathering, to announce the introduction of its APX1000 and APX4000XE portable radios, as well as the mobile APX Dual radio. That brings to 13 the number of Astro 25 radios in the APX portfolio. The Motorola APX1000 is a smaller, more affordable portable radio intended for use by workers in utilities, public works, and smaller public safety organizations. Its P25 TDMA capabilities open the door to advanced features and extended battery life. The Motorola APX4000XE is intended for public safety agencies seeking a cost-effective portable that will perform
-
March 04, 2014I’m just back from Alaska, where Motorola Solutions has boosted both customer satisfaction and staff productivity at the state’s largest ski resort with the installation of true high-speed, wall-to-wall Wi-Fi coverage in every guest room with plenty of bandwidth to ensure superior wireless performance, regardless of how many devices may be in use. “Most hotels and resorts offer free high-speed wireless service but aren’t always able to deliver on their ‘high-speed’ promise,” reads a story on the Wi-Fi project by TodayWirelessWorld.com. “Hotels and resorts can shake the stigma of sluggish WLAN signal strength when they stop trying to make a consumer-grade wireless router pull the weight. Instead, when a proven communications company can work directly with the establishment to find a solution, guests can enjoy
-
February 18, 2014While the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to be the subject of mind-boggling projections, major companies—including our partner Motorola Solutions—are working to develop new mobile technologies that will solve real-world business problems. "The 'Internet of Things'—technologists' vision of a network of billions of connected devices—has attracted the attention of a number of tech giants—including Cisco, Intel, and General Electric—all of whom have internal business units dedicated to building the infrastructure for that network," The Washington Post said this month in a report on the impact IoT will have on the training
-
February 12, 2014Okay, so the recent Super Bowl wasn't much of a game. But there were plenty of noteworthy elements beyond the weather, the halftime show, and the event's largest-ever television audience. Security at the event was unprecedented—not just the day of the game, but the days and weeks leading up to it. A 2.5-mile chainlink fence surrounded the stadium, and there were helicopters, boat patrols, and an advanced system of IP video surveillance cameras. Video was processed by an artificial intelligence system able to spot unusual or suspicious behavior. These new technologies point to a surveillance industry that is rapidly growing and open to innovation. Organizations have used surveillance cameras to improve security efforts for decades, but the wired analog technology left much to be desired. Cameras had poor resolution and limited controls. Creating a tethered
-
3M Peltor Accessories Analog Apps BearCom BridgeWave Call Boxes Cambium Networks Cell Phones David Clark Digital Eventide Extranets Facebook Firetide Icom America IMPACT Radio Accessories IP Kent Huffman LDV LinkedIn Mesh Networks Mobile Broadband Mobile Command Centers Motorola MOTOTRBO NeoTerra Systems NOC OTTO Panasonic Point-to-Point Bridges Preventive Maintenance Pryme Push-to-Talk Pyramid Rent Repairs Social Media Sonetics Sony Sprint Nextel TABLETmedia Today's Wireless World TurboVUi Twisted Pair Twitter Two-Way Radio Rentals Two-Way Radios Ubiquiti Verizon Vertex Standard Video Surveillance Walkie-Talkies Wireless WLAN YouTube Analog Technologies Motorola Solutions Two-Way Radio AccessoriesJanuary 07, 2014Some companies publish catalogs filled with little more than pretty pictures and glowing product descriptions. Not BearCom. Our 2014 Wireless Products, Services & Solutions Guide, which is headed to customers early next week, is filled with detailed information about BearCom's capabilities and scope, as well as updates on the latest innovations in wireless technology. "In this issue, we explore how digital technology is transforming two-way radios," said BearCom's Chief Marketing Officer, Kent Huffman, who oversees the annual project. "That section includes information on the benefits of switching to digital and how backward-compatible equipment makes an analog-to-digital migration smoother." Huffman added, "The guide also serves as a reminder of how BearCom's strong partner relationships and our 26 branch offices nationwide keep us positioned to offer wireless communications solutions of
-
November 05, 2013The latest news on the machine-to-machine (M2M) industry points to even faster growth in M2M and identifies the business sectors that stand to be most impacted. Strategy Analytics says M2M will grow from $45 billion in annual revenue in 2013 to an amazing $242 billion in 2022. The report's author, Andrew Brown, was quoted by M2M World News as saying, "Healthcare, consumer electronics, utilities, and vehicles are areas that will see major revenue growth, through the driving out of inefficiency in existing processes, as well as the creation of new service opportunities. The growth in providers of regulatory compliant NOCs (network operation centers), investment from industrial giants like GE, and growth in the number of 'big data,' system
-
October 02, 2013It seems everyone is talking about healthcare. This week, the health insurance exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act went into effect. Many wonder what this means for their individual care plans. Now more than ever, hospitals need to reduce costs and increase efficiency through any means available. Digital wireless technology offers a clear path to improved productivity. Most hospitals are anxious to try new technology. The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society found that 79% of 253 healthcare executives said they plan to use wireless equipment information systems in the coming year. Doctors are, by nature, early adopters of technology. "Doctors were the first large worker base that started using PDAs on the job," Ellen Daley, an analyst at Forrester Research recently told Computerworld magazine. "Here are a bunch of people who have an appetite for carrying PDAs." The impact of wireless technology extends far beyond its most obvious uses. In
-
September 03, 2013Across the country, the public's safety remains a top concern of governments and citizen alike. Getting more policing while holding down costs seems to be on a lot of people's minds. Judging by several recent news accounts, governmental organizations and policing agencies appear to have found a key force multiplier in the form of IP video surveillance. The term is used in several stories describing how video surveillance systems are being used to fight crime. Newsday's report about the video surveillance system on New York's Long Island said it will eventually include thousands of cameras at shopping malls, hospitals parks, and beaches. Live footage will stream into a police communications