Hawaii Wireless Interoperability Network

       Sometimes a phone won’t do.                      Sometimes a touch screen won’t work.

        

 

 

 

 

In those times of emergency, a first responder grade system is needed.  Cellular networks can drop and it is a matter of commercial revenue.  First responder systems are a matter of survival.  Whether addressing a landslide, fire, or prisoner transport, every moment of our first responders time on the job carries with it the added weight and importance of the health and safety of the public that depends on them to -respond.

The State of Hawaii has invested a great deal of time and funding to deploy a statewide system supporting our state first responders, state agencies, and their interoperability needs.  It is a system architected in such a way that any portion of the system isolated will continue to operate with the full functionality of the system at large.  It is a survivable system by design.  Backed by the State of Hawaii microwave network of links, the system joins sites that are designed to survive a category 4 hurricane.

Rather than one site offering a few channels, HIWIN is a vast system of sites connected by the State’s microwave network built to public safety standards.  Constructed to survive a CAT 4 hurricane, this system will be there when our first responders have to go to work and the rest of our population is depending upon them to do just that.

Consisting of roughly 44 sites statewide and architected to support independent areas of interest with the use of simulcast cells that offer important areas redundant coverage in the event one site in the cell area should go down.  With each agency having their own talk groups, the State offers agencies what is essentially their own system without the cost.

System Architecture

The system was procured, and is designed, to best serve a statewide community by providing Wide Area Trunking coverage in a system architecture that is resilient to localized outages.

As long at any two sites remain connected, this system architecture will maintain wide area trunking between those sites without requiring a connection to a central mainframe or computer.  If a site is isolated, it will go into site trunking until the connections to other sites are restored.

This system is vendor agnostic and will accommodate any P25 portable your agency procures.

To be clear, your agency can function on HIWIN without interference on their own talk groups.  Talk groups intended for your agency at your location and talk groups for your agency at other locations.  With the twist of a knob, you can be communicating with an entirely different location as if you were on site.

Interoperability

If the need is to communicate with one of the County systems this system offers the ultimate interoperability tool.  Touching each county, HiWIN can tie them all together or provide your entity with communications should they deploy to assist in an emergency.  The console positions can patch talk groups for interoperability during emergency response situations.  These talkgroups could simply be another entity’s local radio connected to our analog gateways, or it could be as advanced as an ISSI interface between the two systems which offers more functionality.

Coming Features / Developments / Sites

P25 Phase II

The system is now P25 Phase I, and will migrate to offering Phase II for all airports and major urban areas.  This will double the number of voice channels available to those who have procured Phase II capable radios.

PTT on Smart Phone Devices

HIWIN offers administrators access to their talk groups and their staff through their existing smart phone.