Choisissez votre pays et votre langue
To find out more about the new challenges facing this sector, we spoke to Denis Thayanithy, Director of Solutions and Partnerships at Crosscall. The French manufacturer of ultra-resistant, durable smartphones, which today equip over 300,000 agents attached to the French Ministries of the Interior, Defense and Justice, has established itself over the years as an expert in critical communications.
What are the advantages of switching to the new communications networks?
This migration to an ultra-high-speed network will modernize the means of communication used by security and emergency services. Today, police officers, gendarmes, firefighters and SAMU doctors use radio equipment designed in the 1990s, which enables limited data transmission. With 4G and 5G, in addition to voice communication, they will be able to send files, GPS positions in real time and even transmit images or video in real time from the field.
What's more, all public safety players will now have a common communications network, whereas currently each entity has its own network. This means that a police officer could not communicate directly with a firefighter or a gendarme. Now, they will all be able to communicate instantaneously with each other over a dedicated network - this is what we call interoperability. These new possibilities for interaction between different entities will enable better management of interventions and critical missions in the field.
How did Crosscall become a key player in the security-defense sector?
At Crosscall, we design and manufacture smartphones with a 5-year warranty that are perfectly adapted to the conditions encountered by professionals in the field. Thanks to their resistance, waterproofing and long battery life, they offer rock-solid reliability in any working environment. At Crosscall, we put users and their needs at the heart of our product development: we talk to them, we go out into the field to understand the realities of their jobs and offer them perfectly adapted solutions. This proximity and ability to design tailor-made products is a real strength when it comes to reaching security and defense players with highly specific needs. To protect their fellow citizens, security and emergency forces need fast, secure, resilient and fully interoperable communications systems.
We are now equipping intervention units, and have won the contract to equip all Gendarmerie and Police Nationale forces. In total, more than 300,000 officers from the French Ministries of the Interior, Defense and Justice can rely on their Crosscall smartphones to carry out their daily missions.
Our support continues even after the equipment has been deployed in the field. We make sure that our users are satisfied over the long term, and continue to develop new solutions to help them solve their problems. We are also able to provide advanced technical support to certain customers and partners, helping them with mobility issues or the deployment of private networks, particularly 5G networks. For the latter, adaptations are often necessary, whether to enable the terminal to attach quickly to the private network, or to integrate 5G calls (VoNR - Voice over NR).
How did you win the tender to equip all Gendarmerie and Police forces?
The French Ministry of the Interior was looking for ruggedized smartphones to equip its police forces. Previously, they were equipped with conventional smartphones and had to deal with a lot of break-ins, which not only entailed additional costs for them, but also a loss of operational capability. Today, a policeman or gendarme can do everything with his smartphone, accessing all his business applications, checking an identity or the validity of a driving license in real time, and even issuing a procès-verbal. A smartphone that doesn't work means an agent who can't perform all his tasks. So they need reliable, high-performance equipment that will stand the test of time. At Crosscall, our smartphones and tablets have an extended lifespan, a point that has reassured users and enabled us to achieve a competitive total cost of ownership.
Compatibility with private communications networks (PMR) was also a requirement of the tender. We responded with a smartphone from our CORE range: compatible with the main PMR frequency bands and equipped with 4 buttons dedicated to Push-to-Talk, SOS and channel change functions, which can be reprogrammed, it meets all the criteria to establish itself as an ideal tool for critical communication. With them, law enforcement agencies have a terminal perfectly suited to the transformation they face.
Can you tell us more about these new solutions?
At Crosscall, we also design accessories that multiply the uses offered by our smartphones. The Police and Gendarmerie have already opted for certain accessories, such as the X-POWER external battery or the car mount. X-CAR PRO allowing them to recharge their smartphones in their vehicles or in the field. As their need for group communication is central to the success of their missions, we have developed X-COMM, a remote loudspeaker microphone. Connected to the smartphone, it can be used to remotely control speaking and offers all the advantages of communication on 4G/5G networks, while retaining the gestures of the radios that public security forces are used to using. Our aim today is to offer our users a solution-oriented approach, so that we can support them as closely as possible in meeting their needs and challenges.
Today, the smartphone is no longer just a means of communication, it's at the heart of multiple uses. This innovative approach enables our users to rationalize their equipment andoptimize the cost of their mobile fleet.
What role does innovation play at Crosscall?
Innovation is central to Crosscall. We mustinnovate to meet the expectations of our users and to keep pace with developments in the industry. To this end, we have designed the CORE-Z5 , the world's first smartphone to be compatible with the 68 frequency band. This band is dedicated to public safety in the majority of European countries. With this smartphone, we offer a group communication solution that enables network pre-emption for optimal intervention in any situation.
In addition to this integration, we worked on support for eMBMS (evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services), which enables "point-to-multipoint" broadcasting of content. This enables several terminals to receive information that the antenna sends to everyone, instead of receiving the information separately. The support of this functionality is complementary to that of band 68. Indeed, this band has a bandwidth of 5MHz which, in the event of major events or crises, may be insufficient to support different video streams shared by several people.
How is your industrial approach structured?
To ensure continuous innovation, we have set up an R&D skills center at our headquarters in Aix-en-Provence. This enables us to provide even more effective customized technological solutions, while retaining a high level of agility and flexibility. We can meet virtually any special requirement, offering turnkey, tailor-made solutions. This internalization of our industrial approach has enabled us to develop X-SCAN, an optical scanner module that attaches to a smartphone, transforming it into a high-performance mobile traceability tool. This is an increasingly important requirement for our customers: firefighters, for example, need to identify and trace all their PPE (personal protective equipment) in order to guarantee the safety of their teams.
Closer to mission-critical communication, we are currently developing a remote micro-speaker that will enable "direct mode" communication. This type of communication enablesseveral devices, without network coverage, to communicate with each other. This is very useful for communicating in areas where cellular coverage is sub-optimal or non-existent, such as underground parking lots or uninhabited rural areas.
Is being a French company a real advantage in this sector?
We are the only 100% French-owned telephony company. This allows us to be close to our customers, and to reassure them that their data is secure. Our industrial expertise enables us to develop sovereign, secure and resilient communications solutions. Our terminals feature a sovereign OS update solution (FOTA), hosted on secure infrastructures in Europe and fully compliant with RGPD (General Data Protection Regulation) regulations and validated by national security authorities.
Do you have international stakes?
The market for modern critical communications is about to explode worldwide. In the military field, armed with the lessons learned from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the crucial role played by telecommunications in the conflict, armies are now planning to equip every combatant with a smartphone secured on an autonomous network, with military applications in intelligence, cyberdefense, geolocation and telemedicine. In the field of public safety in Europe, many states have already anticipated this migration to critical broadband communications by launching national programs such as RFF in France, ESN in the UK or SIRDEE in Spain. We are in tune with these challenges, and can meet the demands of these players with our expertise and dedicated solutions.
And finally, how do you see the future development of public safety?
Public security forces, whether in the field or not, will be more connected in the future. They will be equipped with smartphones and dedicated accessories, enabling them to manage all their missions faster, wherever they are. Broadband will revolutionize the management of critical missions. From his command post, an officer will be able to have complete visibility of the operation to which his team is deployed, thanks to live video retransmission. In addition to saving time, this will reduce risks in the field. The emergency services sector will also gain in efficiency with the introduction of telemedicine. A doctor in Paris will be able to help a firefighter working several hundred kilometers away, without having to travel! This is a huge benefit for our fellow citizens, who will be able to be taken care of more quickly at these key moments.
Very soon, the smartphone will even replace the computer, enabling field teams to rely on a single, much more mobile and secure device. Technological innovation will be with us every day as we tackle these issues.
At Crosscall, we work closely with our security and defense customers to design the new solutions that will equip tomorrow's users. Among these solutions, Crosscall is already studying support for NTNs (Non Terrestrial Networks), a term that covers satellite networks. The brand is looking into this subject as it is likely to meet demands for coverage of ever wider areas not necessarily covered by our current cellular networks. The performance of communication tools used by security and emergency services is an essential element in the protection of people and property.
your project starts here
Let us help you find the right solution for your business. A sales representative will get back to you.
Please note that this form is exclusively dedicated to all professional projects. All other requests will unfortunately not be processed. In this case, please contact us via the Contact form.
Team based in France
48-hour response
CAN WE DISCUSS IT IN PERSON?
Our sales team will contact you by telephone within 48 hours to discuss your project.
By filling in this form, I am informed that my data will be processed by CROSSCALL in order to contact you by e-mail or telephone.
I am also informed that, as a professional, I may receive commercial and professional offers by e-mail from CROSSCALL that may meet your needs. As the basis for this is a legitimate interest, you may object at any time by using the unsubscribe link included in the communication e-mail. Your data will be kept in France for a period of 3 years following our last contact.
In accordance with the legal provisions in force, you have a right of access, rectification, limitation of processing, deletion and portability . To find out more about the processing of your data and your rights, please consult our Data Protection policy.
Tell us about your project
By filling in this form, I am informed that my data will be processed by CROSSCALL as data controller in order to respond to my request for a quote.
I am also informed that, as a professional, I may receive commercial and professional offers by e-mail from CROSSCALL. As the basis for this is a legitimate interest, you may object at any time by using the unsubscribe link included in the communication e-mail. Your data will be kept in France for a period of 3 years following our last contact.
In accordance with the legal provisions in force, you have a right of access, rectification, limitation of processing, deletion and portability . To find out more about how your data is processed and your rights, see Data protection and cookies.