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CX2 Is In The Right Place At The Right Time
With Their Products For 220 MHz - The Frequency Is Ideal For Public Safety
Needs - CX2 Radios Offer Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) And Can Relay
Weather And Traffic Data As Well As Data From Biological, Chemical, And
Radiation Sensors
Technology
Communications
(CXTO-OTC: BB)
CX2 Technologies, Inc.
3700 Airport Road, Suite 410B
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Phone: 561-347-9235
Michael Rand
CEO & President
Interview conducted by:
Lynn Fosse, Senior Editor
CEOCFOinterviews.com
Published – May 2, 2008
BIO:
In addition to his responsibilities as CEO of CX2 Technologies, Inc.,
Michael Rand is the marketing director of GEOCommand, Inc., a company
partnering with CX2 on a homeland security public safety project.
With more than 12 years of
experience in voice and data systems engineering, Mr. Rand brings
considerable expertise in system administration to CX2. He was a senior
systems engineer at Precision Response Corporation (PRC), where he was
responsible for the rollout and support of a state-of-the-art call center.
He then went on to implement satellite and wireless communications systems
for Larry Smith Marine Electronics.
As an entrepreneur, Mr.
Rand has also been involved in several FCC 220 MHz radio spectrum auctions
and acquisitions since 1994.
Mr. Rand is focusing CX2 on
its core data communications technology. He plans to market the company’s
highly efficient narrowband modem radio to private corporations and
government agencies, both of which require the real-time data communication,
fleet tracking, and remote sensor capabilities of CX2 narrowband radios.
Company Profile:
CX2 Technologies, Inc. designs and markets frequency-efficient
wireless data communication products operating in the 220 MHz spectrum. The
company’s data telemetry solutions monitor both fixed and mobile assets.
CX2 digital data radios are
multi-functional and programmable. The radios operate in a SCADA environment
to offer command and control capability. In addition, CX2 offers Fleet
Tracer™, a fleet tracking software that works with CX2 Data Lynx™ data
modems, which include optional embedded GPS.
CX2 engineers can customize
the company’s solutions to meet any organization’s wireless requirements.
CEOCFO: Mr. Rand, as the new CEO of CX2, what is your vision for
the company?
Mr. Rand: “Our vision is for CX2 to be
the 220 MHz radio manufacturer of choice for public safety.”
CEOCFO: How do you get there?
Mr. Rand: “We already have the best
products on the market now. We get there by creating market awareness of our
technology and the 220 MHz spectrum as a whole, which is pretty much
underutilized. Not many people know about the spectrum.”
CEOCFO: Please explain the 220 MHz spectrum and your role in it.
Mr. Rand: “In 1993 the original 220 MHz
spectrum was issued by the FCC through a lottery followed by three
subsequent auctions. It is a narrowband frequency with certain
characteristics that make it ideal for public safety. For instance, cellular
frequencies require towers every 20 miles, whereas 220, with its narrowband
characteristics, could allow towers at distances up to 40 miles depending on
the terrain. This allows for a coverage radius up to 1,200 square miles per
tower, making it very efficient and cost effective. It propagates extremely
well in rugged areas and major metropolitan areas, where other frequencies,
such as 800–900 MHz, are noted for drop-off and cross talk as a result of
overcrowding. In public safety, the 800–900 MHz frequency is notorious for
having communication problems in those frequencies.”
CEOCFO: What is the role of the CX2 technology?
Mr. Rand: “We see our technology as
ideal for data collection – for instance, with Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL),
CX2 radios can help organizations track fleets, equipment, and personnel. In
addition, CX2 technology is useful for gathering remote weather and traffic
data, and data from biological, chemical, and radiation sensors.”
CEOCFO: What is it you are actually providing?
Mr. Rand: “We are primarily a
development company. We develop radio communications technology, and we
outsource the manufacturing of our technology. We also design the software
for gathering the information that is transmitted and adding value to it by
creating databases and ways of analyzing the information.”
CEOCFO: Will you give us an example of whom you are selling to
and what you are doing for them?
Mr. Rand: “If you are talking about our
recent sales, those were to 220 MHz license holders, one in Miami and one in
New York. They were equipped for voice communications. We sold them data
communications base stations to allow them to transmit and receive data for
automatic vehicle location, which will allow them to sell our fleet tracking
software. They can do credit card swiping wirelessly over 220 MHz through a
third-party service. The other implementation for this technology is SCADA,
which is used by public utilities for remote monitoring and remote control
of assets. Utility companies can use SCADA for meter reading. Companies such
as pipeline companies, or oil or gas companies that have remote wells, can
monitor their resources over a wide area. They can also monitor alarms and
the efficiencies of their infrastructure, and they can control valves
remotely.”
CEOCFO: How does your agreement with GEOCommand lead you into the
emergency responder area?
Mr. Rand: “GEOCommand is a mobile
emergency response information system. The company developed its suite of
applications for public safety and homeland security. GEOCommand retained us
to work on writing code to integrate sensors with the CX2 Data Lynx™ data
modem technology, to integrate the data into the GEOCommand Dynamic Server™,
and to broker the data out to first responders using the GEOCommand Mobile
Module™.”
CEOCFO: Is there much competition? What sets CX2 Technologies’
products apart?
Mr. Rand: “In the recent 700 MHz auction
conducted by the FCC, a portion, a ten-channel block called the D Channel,
was set aside for public safety. That spectrum was not auctioned off because
nobody met the minimum bid requirement. This sets the stage to make 220 an
alternative frequency for transmitting data and monitoring sensors, because
the FCC has to go back to the drawing board and figure out how they are
going to handle this problem. They weren’t able to raise the money to build
out the 700 MHz network. We are touting 220 because it meets the 9/11
Commission requirements for taking legacy systems and incorporating new
world technology to create an interoperable network. We have already
successfully demonstrated that 220 MHz can do just that, in a demo for the
Department of Homeland Security last April, at the Center for Domestic
Preparedness.
One of the drawbacks to the
700 MHz spectrum is that the first responders have pre-emptive rights to the
network. In other words, it was to be a public/private partnership. The
private or commercial operators that were supposedly going to bid on this
were supposed to build it out and have commercial use of the spectrum until
an emergency occurred, and then public safety would be able to override the
network and have access to it. There is one problem: Sensor data, such as
chemical, biological, and radiation sensor data, is something you don’t want
to monitor after the fact. It is something you want to constantly be aware
of before a critical situation occurs, so that you have awareness and can
mitigate the situation effectively. We filed comments with the FCC along
with GEOCommand about the shortcomings of the auction, and how 220 could
effectively provide a data communications network that would be of great
benefit to public safety. In 1992, the FCC set aside two ten-channel 220 MHz
nationwide licenses for public safety and the federal government. These
licenses are free to public safety, so there is a cost savings there – the
licenses don’t need to be purchased. So we are ready to roll out the
networks for public safety in 220.”
CEOCFO: What is the financial picture like for CX2?
Mr. Rand: “We will be reporting our
quarterly earnings in the next couple of weeks, and you can see our public
filings or financials on the SEC’s EDGAR Web site. We are rolling ahead with
our development plan, and we are integrating weather and radiation sensors.
We just completed on integrating Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) with the
GEOCommand Dynamic Server. We are moving along and are on target with our
plans.”
CEOCFO: Why should potential investors be interested? What might
they miss when they first look at the company?
Mr. Rand: “Our technology is low cost,
and it’s spectrum efficient. The federal government owns 200 MHz licenses,
and these licenses are free to public safety. We have inventory and we can
deliver immediately.”
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