JVCKENWOOD completes acquisition of ESChat

JVCKENWOOD has announced it has acquired 100% of the shares in San Luis Aviation, Inc., trading as ESChat, making it a consolidated subsidiary. ESChat is a California-based company engaged in the broadband push-to-talk (PTT) business in North America.

The acquisition is part of the company’s business optimisation plans to accelerate medium- to long-term growth across its entire Communications Systems Business.

The core focus of ESChat is communication, collaboration and interoperability achieved by enabling secure PTT communication across wide-area networks, multimedia messaging, and a common operating picture (COP) within and between agencies for mutual-aid or tactical purposes. ‘ESChat for Government’ is a hardened version of the ESChat platform, with an added emphasis on cybersecurity and interoperability, and is FedRAMP certified, GovRAMP authorised and TX-RAMP certified. These certifications focus on cybersecurity, and help reduce the verification burden on government agencies by allowing them to leverage existing assessment results, enabling faster and more efficient deployment of the solution. In addition, it is FirstNet certified solution and is also approved by the US Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA).

Ahead of this acquisition, in March 2026, JVCKENWOOD launched Viking Connect, a solution powered by ESChat technology that has been integrated into the Viking series of professional wireless radios offered in the North American market. Viking Connect offers automatic switching between LMR and two broadband networks based on signal conditions, user-controlled prioritisation of LMR or broadband networks, and administrator-configured RF transition levels, providing a seamless and reliable PTT communication environment between field operations and command centres.

Through the acquisition of ESChat, JVCKENWOOD says it will continue to integrate ESChat into its product and service portfolio, expand its line-up, and further broaden business opportunities through full-scale entry into the hybrid domain, focusing on North America.

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