The deal's potential goes beyond the ability to tie together disparate public-radio systems at different frequencies, said Gregg Rowland, vice president of sales and marketing at Codespear. Wi-Fi and WiMax networks could be linked with a variety of Blackberry and third-generation cellular networks, with integrated text-to-speech to allow alerts to go out in any format the end user prefers.

"Interoperability isn't just about land mobile radio, but means interoperability from LMR to enterprise domains, public-access environments, anything," Rowland said.

Service providers and municipal service managers told Codespear's founders that any message-translation capability requiring new hardware next to routers, servers or soft switches would be unacceptable, as would methodology that changed the way emergency-radio users performed their tasks.

"We started as a software layer next to transport, and everything remains centered on the software as the glue to bind the system together," Rowland said. "It was made very clear that any change in the way the customer does business, or a change in hardware, would cause the OAM [operations, administration and maintenance] costs to get out of hand."

The Codespear SmartMSG server does use some unique hardware in command-and-control functions, however. In a central-dispatch headquarters, a ruggedized laptop is connected to a small hardware appliance, the size of a second-generation V.32 modem, that uses Texas Instruments Inc. DSP chips to translate packets from one network to another. Cable interfaces for common handsets embed a chip that identifies the type of radio and the issuing agency, thereby aggregating information for the Codespear directory.

Other efforts are under way in government and industry to promote hardware interoperability, such as the Safecom initiative within Department of Homeland Security or the Defense Department's Joint Tactical Radio System. But Rowland scoffs at the practicality of such approaches. "Every radio equipment manufacturer was sending hardware down to New Orleans after Katrina, but what good is it if operators don't understand how to make systems talk to each other?" he asked.

Greg Campbell, a founder of Codespear and vice president of technology, developed the protocols while working on gaming systems. Ford Credit, the financial arm of Ford Motor Co., adopted the message protocols in the fall of 2002, across 125 servers. Glen Seaman, who joined Codespear in mid-2003 to help develop business strategy, told Campbell the key was not just messaging among different clients, but solving interoperability across existing hardware. During 2003, Codespear acquired additional intellectual property to expand the suite to enterprise applications.

"This is a messaging component that combines voice-over-Internet Protocol, IP and SMTP/SMS [Simple Mail Transfer Protocol/Short Message Service] functions in a single layer," Seaman said. "Our clients use Session Initiation Protocol, but the important factor is linking any kind of communication service."

In demonstrations, alerts from the command-and-control console go out instantaneously across Blackberry, push-to-talk and 3G networks, including those based on both EVDO and 1XRTT data systems.

The current 5-volt radio interface system plugs into a laptop through a USB cable, and could be further miniaturized to fit into an industrial laptop bay from manufacturers such as iTronix. The smart cable that plugs into the interface unit uses a 10-pin connector, which allows links for a serial interface, for the ID chip data, and for ear and mouth interfaces.

"This is not just two radios talking to one another, but full sharing of video, white-board applications, secure file sharing, a full range of multimedia," Seaman said. "This can work on any stateful network."

The servers carrying SmartMSG can use the Active Directory or Local Directory Access Protocol to identify devices, groups or users. By selling the software into cable multisystem operators or telcos, Codespear can extend the message alerts to two-way systems that send IP messages across a broadband digital TV set-top box or DSL residential gateway.

Consequently, Codespear can work with OEMs on future embedding of its hardware in network operation centers; with service providers, on alerts to customers; with system integrators, collaborating with the likes of SAIC, IBM and Nortel Networks; or with state and municipal governments. Rowland said that if new projects to protect infrastructure expand the efforts at messaging for the protection of industry, this will represent yet another venue in which to deploy the Codespear software.