The Army’s new battlefield network now will have the ability to link radios, smartphones and other communication devices together to provided two-way voice communications, regardless of make or model of the device accessing the data.

Before the procurement of WAVE technology, the network was unable to link two-way radios, phones and computers together, according to the Army’s program office for tactical command, control and communications (PEO C3T).

Prior to purchasing WAVE from Twisted Pair Solutions, a subsidiary of Motorola [MOT], individual Army units bought their own voice communication software through operational needs statements. Col. Michael Thurston, project manager of mission command, said WAVE standardizes voice communication systems and established an open-architecture matrix into which various devices and networks can plug and operate.

“This procurement establishes a standard solution across all Army units and the ability to link with other Department of Defense agencies, including U.S. Special Operations Command and the U.S. Marine Corps, Thurston said in a prepared statement.

The contract was finalized June 30 and will provide software that acts as “glue” that will connect various devices of different make and model that otherwise would not be able to transfer voice and data communications.

Army officials say the technology will be useful in disaster relief scenarios where multiple agencies equipped with a variety of communication devices and computing networks need to transfer data and talk to one another seamlessly.

The system is scheduled to deploy with the warfighter information network-tactical increment-1 (WIN-T) as part of the disaster incident response emergency communications terminal, which allows local responders and emergency management officials to communicate with state and federal authorities in the aftermath of a disaster. WAVE allows each organization to use its own devices and networks instead of supplying common devices to all users, PEO C3T said.

The software converts two-way radio traffic into voice over internet protocol (VoIP), much like the way the program Skype works. Everyone on the network who is granted access and has a voice-enabled device to communicate, regardless of network or device.

WAVE was tested during the Army’s network integration evaluation exercises (NIE) at Fort Bliss, Texas.

“The NIE provided a venue for us to pursue a solution for a longstanding gap in our portfolio and see soldier feedback on its operational utility,” said Jennifer Zbozny, chief engineer for PEO C3T, in a prepared statement. “With WAVE, key leaders were able to invite participants to talk with each other over the network regardless of whether they were on a desktop computing platform, VoIP phone or radio net. WAVE efficiently distributed critical voice anywhere on the tactical network and proved to be a viable solution for voice collaboration.”

WAVE eventually will replace the current VoIP system used in Army command posts, PEO C3T said. It will “significantly expand the functionality for commander and staff,” Lt. Col. Shane Taylor, product manager for tactical mission command, said in the statement. “Its associated flexibility and scalability will be a tremendous value for the Army both from a capability and a cost perspective.”

Defense Daily’s annual Open Architecture Summit will be held Nov. 4 at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. For more information and registration, visit www.openarchitecturesummit.com.