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MULTIVOICE Unveils its “Full-Multiplex” MV-PROTECTOR Wireless Mesh-Network Intercom at the APCO 2015 Trade Show

Hurricane with Nexus leftDesigned specifically for use by Public Safety professionals — Police, Firefighters, EMTs, SWAT and more — the MV-PROTECTOR delivers a handsfree, simultaneous many-to-many wireless communication solution that can be deployed as a discrete field comms network or combined with existing P25 and/or Push-to-Talk (PTT) radio networks via MULTIVOICE’s MV-COMBINER technology. Both the MV-PROTECTOR and MV-COMBINER will be demonstrated for the first time this Monday and Tuesday at the APCO 2015 trade show in Washington, D.C.  

PROVO, Utah and WASHINGTON, D.C. — August 16, 2015 — MULTIVOICE™ announced it is unveiling its MV-PROTECTOR™ (the company’s newest Wireless Mesh-Network Intercom™) today and tomorrow at the APCO International trade show in Washington, D.C. in booth #1814. Designed specifically for use by police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), SWAT team members, and more, the MV-PROTECTOR delivers a unique handsfree wireless communications solution for Public Safety professionals. Specifically, MV-PROTECTOR systems allow multiple users to speak to multiple users simultaneously, something MULTIVOICE defines as “Full-Multiplex™.”

Unlike traditional Push-to-Talk (PTT) and P25 duplex or full-duplex radios that require users to push-and-hold a button to talk, MULTIVOICE utilizes its patented “Switch-to-Talk™” technologies to allow MV-PROTECTOR users to easily move between Talk and Listen Modes. In fact, an unlimited number of professionals can deploy on the same MV-PROTECTOR network, with up to eight users speaking at any one time across six different channels at ranges of up to one mile, with users switching in and out of Talk Mode as needed. MULTIVOICE is releasing two models of its MV-PROTECTOR Intercoms:
  • The standard “SQUAD™” model, as well as
  • The COMMAND™ model.
The primary advantage of the MV-PROTECTOR COMMAND model is that it guarantees its users will always have a Talk Slot available to them. The COMMAND model is also used by public safety professionals who need to communicate with multiple MV-PROTECTOR networks operating in the same location, such as a Battalion Chief directing multiple crews at a fire or a Commander coordinating efforts between multiple agencies responding to the same event. MV-PROTECTORs operate in the 900 MHz band (902—928MHz), utilize two rechargeable, internal 3000mAh Lithium-Polymer batteries, and deliver up to 18 hours of Talk Time between charges at ranges of up to one mile. The MV-PROTECTOR measures 5.3×3.3×1.3-inches, weighs 15.98 ounces, comes equipped with a 3.5-inch high antenna, and utilizes a patented and proprietary mixture of TDMA (Time Division Multiplexing Access), FDMA (Frequency Division Multiplex Access), and Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum technologies to deliver its Full-Multiplex capabilities. “MV-PROTECTOR takes communications in the public safety arena to a whole new level,” said MULTIVOICE CEO and President, Ron Fraser. “In many environments, Public Safety professionals need to use both hands to perform their jobs to be safe, effective and efficient — something that can be virtually impossible in many situations when they have to push-and-hold a button to talk. We eliminate those concerns with the Switch-to-Talk, Full-Multiplex “open mic” capabilities of our MV-PROTECTOR, something we suspect many Public Safety officials will find quite appealing — especially for intense situations.” At APCO 2015, MULTIVOICE will also publicly demonstrate the ability of its MV-COMBINER™ to seamlessly join MV-PROTECTOR networks to existing PTT, P25 and/or cellular networks. When needed, public safety professionals can utilize MV-COMBINERs to add Full-Multiplex, many-to-many communications capabilities to their P25 or PTT systems. The MV-PROTECTOR is available for testing and evaluation purposes immediately, with General Availability slated by December 31, 2015. For more information about the MV-PROTECTOR (or the MV-COMBINER), please visit www.MULTIVOICE.com or call 385-236-5111.

About MULTIVOICE

Formed in 2011, MULTIVOICE is poised to transform the two-way wireless radio industry (and the Public Safety arena) with its Wireless Mesh-Network Intercoms — solutions that enable simultaneous and secure group communications among fearless individuals in rigorous environments. For more information please visit http://multivoice.com.

MULTIVOICE Announces the Unexpected Death of its President, Todd Rapier

Founder and CEO, Ron Fraser, steps in as President  PROVO, Utah, July 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — It is with grTodd Rapier (45), died unexpectedly in his sleep on Friday, July 3, 2015 while serving as President of Provo, Utah-based MULTIVOICE.eat sadness that MULTIVOICE and the members of the MULTIVOICE “family” today announce the unexpected death of MULTIVOICE President, Todd Rapier (45). Rapier passed away in his sleep from unknown causes on Friday, July 3. According to the company, MULTIVOICE Founder and CEO, Ron Fraser, has taken on the role of President and is being supported in these expanded efforts by the firm’s experienced executive team and Board of Directors. “Todd will be sorely missed by all of us at MULTIVOICE along with all those who had the great opportunity of knowing and loving him,” Fraser said. “He came to work every day ready to take on the world with a contagious level of enthusiasm and excitement. Todd made amazing contributions to our company and to society, and he established a great foundation for success here at MULTIVOICE. We will do all we can to honor his memory by building off the foundation he laid and making MULTIVOICE a booming company that will disrupt the wireless communications industry.”

RAPIER AND MULTIVOICE BACKGROUND Rapier was first introduced to Fraser in 2007 through their mutual hobby of refereeing high school basketball. It was their kindred love for sports, the outdoors and entrepreneurship that kindled a bond that grew into a deep friendship. So when Fraser needed advice for his latest endeavor in advanced radio technology, he looked to someone he could trust — Todd Rapier. Rapier started consulting for MULTIVOICE in the summer of 2014. By the fall of that same year it was clear to Fraser that Rapier had the vision and experience needed to fill the role as President and Co-Founder.

With Rapier as President, MULTIVOICE was rapidly transformed as it moved from a company driven by research and development to a company driven by a focus on customer needs. He worked tirelessly to ensure the company’s well being and believed that relationships made the world go ’round — that money only came after people. He also emphasized that customer service was the most effective sales vehicle, and he knew that his success was primarily dependent on his ability to help others. This belief was something that he showed through his actions on a daily basis at MULTIVOICE.

Prior to joining MULTIVOICE, Rapier was the executive vice president of worldwide sales of MultiLing, an intellectual property translation company, where he drove the company from flat sales to a 30 percent growth rate. During the previous 15 years, he provided similar results for a variety of companies in electrical power solutions (Simplure Power), paper-based digital automation (Velosum and Lucion LLC) and corporate legal research (LexisNexis). Previously, Rapier attended Brigham Young University where he studied history. Rapier is survived by his wife, Mandy, and her three children; three children from a previous marriage; his parents; and three siblings. A viewing will be held on Friday, July 10 from 9 to10:45 a.m. followed by a funeral service from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., with both events held at the LDS Chapel located at 56 East 600 North in Lindon, Utah.

About MULTIVOICE

Formed in 2011, MULTIVOICE is poised to transform the two-way wireless radio industry with its Wireless Mesh-Network Intercoms — solutions that enable simultaneous and secure group communications among fearless individuals in rigorous environments. For more information please visit http://multivoice.com.

MULTIVOICE, Wireless Mesh-Network Intercom, and the MULTIVOICE marks and logos, are each trademarks of MULTIVOICE. All other trademarks are properties of their own respective owners.

CONTACT:
David Politis, MULTIVOICE 
politis@multivoice.com,
385-375-8855(w) or 801-556-8184(c)
Photo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150709/234380
Photo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150709/234381
Logo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150113/169033LOGO

Provo engineer develops life-saving walkie talkie technology

By Kacee Baldwin of The Universe. A scene in 1993’s “Rudy” shows the main character and a friend working in a steel mill. To communicate, one walks the length of the factory, taps his friend on the shoulder of the other and yells. To one Provo businessman, this exchange is just not efficient. What if you didn’t have to yell? What if you could just talk?

Ron Fraser is the CEO of Multivoice, a walkie-talkie technology company born in a Mapleton basement. With a redesign of the common push-to-talk technology, Fraser and his team believe his innovation will not simply provide convenience but also save lives. David Politis, CMO and co-founder of MULTIVOICE, said walkie-talkie technology has been around since World War II but has not fundamentally changed or improved with time. “Radios sounded boring to me. … It’s like, nothing’s changed in radios in forever; what’s all sexy about radios?” Politis said. “(But) as I got into it, it’s like, wait a second, this actually could be a really good deal.”

It all began with Fraser’s humble beginnings. Born in the “podunk” town of Yerington, Nevada, he first came to BYU for a high school track meet. He later enrolled as a non-LDS student for his undergraduate degree. Fraser was introduced to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was baptized. Two years later, after feeling impressed during a BYU devotional to serve a full-time mission, he left to serve in Japan. “I went to a talk, and they said every young man should go on a mission,” he said. “That really got to me, so I prayed about it. I heard it many times.” “They died and were injured … because they couldn’t communicate,” Fraser said. “They overloaded the communications, and so I went and figured out what the problem was and solved it for the Air Force.”Fraser graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from BYU the year after his mission. The beginnings of Fraser’s technology interest developed from his work on electronics warfare at Texas Instruments. A fuel leak caused the Titan II missile to explode during a launch, resulting  in a death and 20 injured people. Fraser continued to work in contract with the Air Force while at Texas Instruments in Layton and later joined as a consulting partner with Voyager Technologies. He was approached by Porta Phone in 1995 to develop a radio system for four people to communicate without a base station. Fraser thought it couldn’t be done, but he had the problem figured out two weeks later. “(Porta Phone) basically took over the football market with that radio system,” Fraser said. Fraser worked on a number of different projects, gaining experience and solving communication problems. But it wasn’t until three and a half years ago that Fraser decided to develop an innovation for personal use.

The basement-born walkie-talkie innovation removed the need to drag around hefty cables and push buttons. Fraser first created the invention mentally, then built it, testing until it was apparent that the radio technology could be applied in a real world market. To develop the product, “Ron basically put his whole livelihood on the line,” Politis said. Fraser put a base system into every intercom and connected them over a wireless mesh network, allowing for eight people to converse simultaneously and more than 100 others to listen. It’s not just another radio, Fraser said. The football world first adopted the technology, but not long after that Ron began marketing the technology for industrial environments, the military, construction, law enforcement and heavy equipment operation. “We think it will actually make you safer,” Politis said. “We think it will save lives.” Politis said part of the genius of Fraser’s innovation is allowing workers and professionals to talk without having to use their hands to push a button and to augment what existing radio technologies can do.

Todd Rapier, acting president and co-founder of MULTIVOICE recognizes the potential of the technology Fraser has developed. “The type of radio that you would think of as just a walkie-talkie, that’s a $15-billion-a-year market,” Rapier said. “If we only capture a fraction of that market share, it’s a big opportunity. When we get into consumer applications … the sky’s the limit.” Politis said the fact that a boy from “the middle of nowhere in Nevada ends up at BYU and …  invented something that might change the world” gives him hope for the future of MULTIVOICE. “We don’t have visions of grandeur where we replace all that, but we can make (the walkie-talkies) better,” Politis said. “We think we’re going to change the world in what the world has historically known as radios.” Rapier noted Fraser and the MULTIVOICE company are already doing what many others don’t. “If you look at all of the tech startups, they’re almost all software,” he said. “Very rarely do you see someone actually making something Iike hardware. I think that’s neat that we’re actually producing a tangible product you hold in your hand, and it actually works.” 

MULTIVOICE’s 10-employee team is gaining even more momentum. Electronics company OTTO recently offered to fund Fraser’s project after meeting him at an industry trade show. Fraser accepted after initial hesitation, knowing he would need the funds to make the company grow quickly. Multivoice has raised $5 million in a strategic round of seeding funding. “(That’s) nothing to sneeze at,” Politis said. OTTO,  which manufactures accessories that attach to two-way radios, had been looking for a wireless intercom solution they could add to its products. With a customer list of firefighters, soldiers, police, security and SWAT, they knew people’s lives depend on reliable communication, and they’re prepared to see “explosive growth” in the application of Fraser’s technology. “Imagine a firefighter inside a burning building carrying a child and being able to ask for help hands-free,” said Tom Schreiber, general manager of OTTO. A partner can respond from another room while a chief at headquarters can be monitoring the situation in real-time. “The scenarios for this type of ‘crew-communication’ are almost endless,” Schreiber said. OTTO and those working with Fraser have not only benefited from his innovation but also from his character. “OTTO’s experience working with Ron has been fantastic. It’s going on a year now, and it’s clear he’s an amazing guy,” Schreiber said. “He’s as smart and well-rounded of a technologist as I’ve come across in my 30 years of working in high tech … you name it, and he’s doing it.” Rapier noticed similar qualities in Fraser, both as a co-worker and outside the office. The two referee high school basketball together. “Ron’s one of … actually, I’ll just say it flat out. He’s the most brilliant guy I’ve ever worked with,” Rapier said. “Ron is just incredible, a very talented man. Just from a character perspective, he has incredible integrity; he’s honest and kind and very humble. He knows he’s the smartest guy in the room, but he doesn’t act like it.”

Multivoice raises $5M in strategic seed funding

Screen-Shot-2015-01-13-at-9.12.49-PM-250x650By Tessa Curry of SiliconSlopes.com  Try listening to multiple people speak on a radio channel all at once. It doesn’t work. New technology developed by Provo-based Multivoice solves that problem, letting up to 8 people speak over a radio channel. It represents a communications leap for construction workers, the military and even football coaches who can’t always “push” when they need to talk.

MULTIVOICE raised $5 million at a $25 million post-money valuation from OTTO, a Chicago-based wireless manufacturer.

MULTIVOICE, which has been operating in stealth mode for the past three years, provides a solution that enables simultaneous and secure group communications via radio network. Until now these group communications have always required ‘push-to-talk’ buttons, making it hard to simultaneously do work.

“The environments where these are useful, anytime you’re in an environment where you need two hands,” said Todd Rapier, MULTIVOICE’s President and co-founder. “Communication situations where people are having to put something down and then push to talk. We solve that problem.”

Ron Fraser, the company’s founder, invented the technology in his basement while trying to find a way to go beyond the technical limitations of traditional push-to-talk mobile radios. By doing this he could facilitate safer and more effective wireless communication.
“If you understand the tech, the first thing you’ll say is, you can’t do it. It’s never been done,” said David Politis, the company’s CMO and co-founder. “Then you’ll say really? And then you’ll try it and say, oh crap.”