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First Wireless Phone Call from Inside Coal Mine Enabled by Rajant Corporation,
Three Partners Demonstrate Wireless Communications and Tracking Solution for Coal Mines
January 9, 2007 (Malvern, Pennsylvania) – Rajant Corporation, a leading provider of portable networking solutions, Sanmina–SCI, a leading Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) provider, and Hannah Engineering, a professional consulting engineering firm specializing in civil and mining applications, announced today that they have collaborately demonstrated the first ever wireless phone call from inside a coal mine to outside POTS extensions. Calls were made to several different endpoints in multiple states from 1,000 feet underground, at a National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) facility near Pittsburgh, PA.
The collaborative project was in support of statewide rulings from West Virginia and the new 2006 federal regulations, included in the June 2006 Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act, to improve the preparedness and effectiveness of emergency responders in coal mines. Both the state legislation and the MINER Act require mining companies to install improved wireless communications and tracking solutions to provide optimal safe working conditions for miners.
“Safety within mines relies on having the most current communication solutions,” said Bob Schena, Chairman, Rajant Corporation. “The combined solution from Rajant, Hannah Engineering, and Sanmina-SCI offers a breakthrough in how miners can communicate, and be tracked, within a mine. This solution will go a long way to make sure our mines will be safe for our workers.”
The system will be deployed as Hannah Engineering’s Wireless Integrated Technology System (WITS), which provides a complete end-to-end solution for improved communications within coal mines. The WITS system utilizes the networking capabilities of Rajant and Sanmina-SCI to offer wireless communications and personnel tracking from within the mine by connecting a host of disparate communication devices.
Rajant BreadCrumb® technology was deployed in the mine, which delivered instant, portable, mesh-networking capabilities to VoIP phones within the mine. BreadCrumb® units were hand deployed, thereby enabling the network to move as the miners moved. The networking components also facilitated tracking of miners. In operational situations, should an emergency situation arise, miners would easily be located within the mine by using Rajant’s BCAdmin network monitoring software.
Sanmina-SCI’s Defense & Aerospace Systems Division provided their REDI-COMM™ system, which interfaced with the BreadCrumb® network and allowed the miners communication devices to be easily linked with emergency radio systems, other critical communication networks, and POTS phone lines. The Defense & Aerospace Systems Division will soon offer a specialized version of their MP1 phone system that will be uniquely configured and certified for underground use.
“We have been working on an integrated solution for almost one year,” said Dewayne Hannah, President of Hannah Engineering. “Only through the collaborative effort of our work with Rajant and Sanmina-SCI could this breakthrough in a communication solution for mines be possible. By delivering a complete system, coal mines can more quickly meet the new regulations, improve safety, and have better response mechanisms in the case of an emergency. We are looking forward to commercial deployment of the solution and to making our mines safer.”
About Rajant:
Rajant's BreadCrumb® Wireless LAN technology is a portable, tactical broadband wireless network for deployment into and around a situational area. BreadCrumb® technology provides voice and data communications across an ad-hoc, self-healing network using link layer routing that can communicate with IP based client devices such as laptops, PDAs, video cameras, satellite terminals, networked radios and sensor devices. More information about the company is available at www.rajant.com.
About Hannah Engineering
Hannah Engineering is a West Virginia Corporation located in Elkins, West Virginia. Since 1978 the company has provided professional Consulting Engineering services to Public and Private Entities, specializing in Civil and Mining applications. The company’s vision is to provide solid, workable designs and projects at reasonable fees. Hannah Engineering maintains a staff of resident Professional Engineers, Draft Persons, Survey Crews, Inspectors, Computer Specialists, Electronic Engineers, Certified Miners, Electricians and Administrative Personnel. More information regarding the Company can be found at www.hannahengineering.com.
About Sanmina-SCI
Sanmina-SCI Corporation is a leading electronics contract manufacturer serving the fastest-growing segments of the global Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) market. Recognized as a technology leader, Sanmina-SCI provides end-to-end manufacturing solutions, delivering superior quality and support to large Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) primarily in the communications, defense and aerospace, industrial and medical instrumentation, computer technology, multimedia and consumer, and automotive sectors. Sanmina-SCI has facilities strategically located in key regions throughout the world. Sanmina-SCI’s Defense & Aerospace Systems Division is a recognized leader with over four decades of experience in providing a full range of engineering and design services in support of internal product development and its global defense and aerospace customers. The state-of-the art engineering, design, and manufacturing provided by Sanmina-SCI’s Defense & Aerospace Systems Division in the REDI-COMM and the MP1 systems make these products ideal candidates to provide highly durable, reliable, and interoperable solutions to WITS and the mining community. More information regarding the Company is available at www.sanmina-sci.com/das.
