Sierra Wireless today announced the company has begun commercial shipments of the MP 595 GPS and MP 875 GPS rugged wireless modems. Both the MP 595 GPS and the MP 875 GPS are now available for order directly through Sierra Wireless, its distributors, and resellers.

Designed for use in the public safety, field service, and transportation industries, Sierra Wireless MP rugged modems are vehicle mounted and enable wireless data communications with headquarters and dispatchers. In addition, they can provide vehicle location information with an integrated, independent GPS receiver, increasing security for employees and enabling asset tracking.

The MP 595 GPS provides connectivity to EV-DO Revision A networks, offering significantly faster data rates than previous models, with peaks of up to 3.1 Mbps on the downlink and up to 1.8 Mbps on the uplink. The MP 595 is also fully compatible with currently deployed EV-DO Release 0 networks and CDMA 1X networks, for use in areas where an EV-DO Revision A network is not yet available.

The MP 875 GPS is designed for use on HSDPA networks, offering connectivity in all three UMTS frequency bands (850/1900/2100 MHz) currently used worldwide, and supporting peak data speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps. For use in areas where an HSDPA or UMTS network is not yet available, the MP 875 is also fully compatible with EDGE and GPRS in all four frequency bands (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) used worldwide.

To ensure reliable performance in a variety of conditions, Sierra Wireless MP rugged modems:

• Operate in extreme temperatures (-30 C to +70 C);
• Meet U.S. Military and Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J1455 specifications for vibration, shock, drop, rain, splash, sand, dust, humidity, and salt fog;
• Support serial, USB, and Ethernet1 host connections, offering customers a variety of installation and configuration choices, as well as compatibility with legacy systems;
• Include an integrated, independent 12-channel GPS (global positioning system) module for vehicle tracking;
• Offer four digital and four analog input/output ports, allowing dispatchers to monitor additional information such as speed and airbag status, thereby providing additional security for employees and company assets.

With MP Modem Manager software, available from Sierra Wireless, system administrators can control settings and upgrade firmware from a central location without taking units out of the field. In addition, both products carry a three-year platinum warranty with technical support.