POCSAG

HOMEPAGE The Solutions from Swissphone Technologies for Alerting POCSAG

Proven and Future-Proof Technology for Alarm Networks

Fail-safe communication thanks to broadcast protocol: POCSAG is a wireless alarm system where networks and pagers are ready for use at any time. So you alert safely, reliably and quickly – in any emergency or threat situation.

What is POCSAG?

POCSAG (Post Office Code Standardisation Advisory Group) is a unidirectional paging protocol. The technology has proven itself for decades in alerting and generally in the transmission of information in critical and safety-related applications.

Why Is POCSAG Suitable as a Transmission Standard for Alerting?

Alarm networks work according to the principle of the so-called broadcast procedure. In this process, information is transmitted in a single transmission to any number of participants. With POCSAG you can therefore alert large groups of people at the same time. This practically rules out the possibility of a network becoming overloaded.

With modern terminals for alerting, your communication possibilities of the POCSAG standard are extended by a return channel: Via mobile radio, you can send back a status message or response in real time. This makes it possible to issue a follow-up alarm as needed.

At Swissphone, we rely on POCSAG as an integral and reliable backbone for alerting – both for the communication of the control centre with the network infrastructure and with the terminals.

The Advantages of POCSAG

POCSAG has established itself so comprehensively among the blue-light organisations. The reason why POCSAG has become so widely established for alerting the blue-light organisations is that it offers clear advantages, especially for fast, secure and unidirectional communication.

The low carrier frequencies in the VHF range (136-174 MHz) most commonly used for POCSAG alerting have a longer range and better obstacle penetration than UHF signals.

Because of the low POCSAG carrier frequency, under comparable circumstances you need fewer base stations for equally good or even better radio coverage than with radio networks with higher operating frequencies (TETRA, mobile radio).

Our area-wide independent alerting infrastructure makes it possible to limit TETRA voice radio coverage to the outside area as well as to communication in vehicles. You can therefore dispense with expensive area-wide indoor radio coverage via voice radio network – apart from the legally required in building radio coverage.

By using POCSAG pager, you have a wide range of pagers at competitive costs. Moreover, when you introduce new products, you don’t have to change anything in your system infrastructure.

With POCSAG, you can rely on a single channel that will handle current and future expansion plans.

With POCSAG, many users in a given area receive good network quality. Therefore, the average and priority response times for peak and normal traffic are short and alerts are quick.

POCSAG Compared to Other Paging Services

POCSAG is technically and economically the most suitable solution for alerting the largest possible number of emergency forces safely and quickly in any situation:

With POCSAG, you do without the cell architecture typical of TETRA and mobile networks, for example, in which the terminals are “passed on” from cell to cell. This cell architecture can lead to network congestion, especially during crises – this does not apply to a broadcast network like POCSAG.
The architecture of the POCSAG network works independently of third-party systems, features multiple fallback layers and is cost-effective to use – without “IT feeders” like LTE and TETRA require.
The radio coverage and penetration of POCSAG is better than that of TETRA.
You need fewer base stations, therefore you save costs.

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