Cutting-edge technology set to revolutionise the mission critical and B2B communications market
Millions of user connections are interrupted in the EU annually, with 29 % of those interruptions affecting emergency calls. There are many reasons for these interruptions, including vulnerability, attenuation of signals and high costs. Such communication failures can have a devastating effect on the European economy and, even worse, they can result in injury or death during an emergency. Mission-critical forces in particular are in dire need of communications systems that are always available to support their vital operations.
Always-available communication system
Understanding the importance of having a communication system that is always available, the OFF-WEGO project has developed direct mode (DMO) communication technology called OFF-WEGO. “This technology ensures users remain interconnected regardless of network availability,” confirms Slobodan Keseljevic, project coordinator. This solution enables voice and data mobile communications without being dependent on any external infrastructure. Through the application of the project’s DMO concept to smartphones and/or other communication devices, users can connect directly device-to-device. As a result, the technology cannot be affected by common communication failures, making it the ideal solution for mission-critical operations as well as companies’ and individual activities.
Testing feasibility
Phase 1 provided the project with the opportunity to analyse their technology’s technical, commercial and financial feasibility, ultimately ascertaining if commercialisation of the product would be successful. Resulting from this analysis, the partners identified the necessary developments and upgrades that are required to assure that OFF-WEGO is technologically mature and ready for commercialisation. On the technical front, the team found that they need to ensure their hardware development enables interoperability, voice and data transfer capabilities, including the ability to use the same hardware architecture for different frequency bands to accommodate customer needs. “Our software upgrades will centre on confirming the hardware features, notably for easy and quick deployment, security encryption and communication quality through a range of frequencies,” states Keseljevic. “Commercially, through a market analysis, the project has confirmed the potential of the markets in which they will operate, both in value and growth and by geographical segmentation,” confirms the coordinator. He adds: “This has allowed us to increase our understanding of the market needs, drivers and trends.” The project has also confirmed their expansion strategy, which starts with France. It will then continue to Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. After that, it will expand to the rest of Europe and North America. “Our dissemination strategy will be based on highlighting and demonstrating the technical capabilities of OFF-WEGO, and how they translate into greater effectiveness for users,” Keseljevic further notes. The project also expects to attend professional conferences and exhibitions to further disseminate their product and brand. On a financial level, “we have established a business model and pricing strategy and have also set our financial projections by quantifying our expected revenue, profits and total costs,” says the coordinator. “Now that the project has finished, we are currently working on preparing the DEMO for our potential customer in France,” reports Keseljevic. In parallel, the project has applied for Phase 2 funding, with the aim of obtaining the necessary support for final commercialisation of their product.
Keywords
OFF-WEGO, communication system, network availability, voice and data, direct mode, mobile communication, device-to-device
