Airbus Agnet Direct multimode connectivity for MCX users

Airbus Public Safety and Security (PSS) has announced the launch of Agnet Direct, a multimode solution that allows mission-critical applications (MCX) users, such as public safety forces and emergency services, to stay connected to team members even when broadband (4G/5G) networks are not available.

The system includes a smartphone with the Agnet mobile application and an accessory (a smart remote speaker microphone — RSM) connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth or cable. It offers four modes, to be chosen and activated before any operation depending on the environment’s complexity.

In ‘network mode’, as part of everyday operations and when 4G/5G is fully available, all MCX features can be used normally while the RSM accessory amplifies sound quality for users in the field. When 4G/5G is partially or fully degraded, the ‘direct mode’ provides local narrowband connectivity, maintaining device-to-device communications between users in the field via a direct-mode communication channel and their RSMs.

With the ‘dual mode’ (network mode and direct mode combined), the operation chief has access to both 4G/5G talk groups and the direct-mode channel, and may use them simultaneously or separately. This way, the operation chief is always connected to the control room via the talk groups on the one hand and to his team in case it loses 4G/5G coverage via the direct-mode channel.

When 4G/5G is not available to users in the field and the control room needs to listen to what’s going during an operation, the ‘gateway mode’ can be useful. One user positioned near the scene, with full access to 4G/5G, can activate a gateway that bridges a 4G/5G talk group and the direct-mode channel.

The easy-to-use system thus provides network resilience, off-network coverage and local incident scene communications for end users. The direct mode is especially useful in scenarios such as natural disasters, major fires, underground rescues, wildland firefighting, tactical operations, and network outages/overloads.