Montreal and New York — October 25, 2011 – The S.M. Group International Inc. (SMi), Canada's foremost engineering, project management and technological and scientific applications firm, and PowerTrunk™, a leader in land mobile radio systems, have been selected by BC Hydro, to implement the first fully operational TETRA network in North America. SMi will provide system integration and PowerTrunk will supply the TETRA land mobile radio infrastructure and terminals to improve safety and communications in the Vancouver Lower Mainland region of British Columbia province.

The BC Hydro PowerTrunk network covering Vancouver and surrounding areas will consist of 25 TETRA 409-430 MHz site base stations, connected via the BC Hydro IP backhaul network, and up to 820 TETRA terminals as 450 mobiles, 350 handhelds, 20 fixed. To support 14 dispatchers, PowerTrunk will provide 3 CeCoCo command and control centers that interface to BC Hydro’s legacy VHF system.

BC Hydro operates and maintains a power system infrastructure that serves more than 1.8 million customers in an area including over 95 percent of British Columbia’s population. For the efficient and safe execution of fieldwork during normal and emergency operating conditions, BC Hydro crews require reliable and convenient mobile voice communications at all substations, dams, and generating stations, and along all distribution and transmission lines. Although the main requirement is for voice, BC Hydro will also use the mobile communications system for data applications such as short data and text messaging.

“SMi stays at the forefront of the latest technology breakthroughs, enabling our clients to have the most advanced solutions, providing high levels of reliability in the execution of the services and noticeable cost efficiency” stated Bernard Poulin, President and CEO of SMi. “SMi has achieved many contracts in the Telecoms and Security fields throughout the world, providing their clients with a wide range of technology solutions, TETRA being one of its most innovative. We are extremely excited to be the first company to validate the reliability and security of TETRA land mobile radio in North America.”

“Utilities, transport and public safety organizations around the world have chosen PowerTrunk/Teltronic TETRA LMR due to our advanced technology and our willingness to deliver customized systems that meet each client’s unique requirements,” said Jose Martin, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of PowerTrunk. “Together with our Canadian partner SMi, we will work closely with BC Hydro to deploy a network that is tailored to the company’s current and future needs while leveraging legacy systems.”

“I congratulate BC Hydro, PowerTrunk and SMi for being the first in North America to recognize the considerable benefits of choosing TETRA technology to deliver critical communications,” said Phil Kidner, CEO, TETRA Association. “We look forward to further TETRA contracts being awarded in the future in Canada as professional users come to appreciate the strengths and operational advantages of an open standard such as TETRA.”

About BC Hydro

BC Hydro is the third largest electrical utility in Canada, operating 30 hydroelectric facilities and 3 natural gas-fueled thermal power plants. About 80 percent of British Columbia’s electricity is produced by major hydroelectric generating stations on the Columbia and Peace rivers. BC Hydro generates between 43,000 and 54,000 gigawatt hours of electricity annually, depending on prevailing water levels. Fifty years ago, British Columbians turned to BC Hydro to build the clean electricity system they count on to power their economy, create jobs, and keep the lights on. BC Hydro continues to grow, building, renewing, and encouraging conservation to meet today’s needs and those of future generations.www.bchydro.com

About SMi

The S.M. Group International Inc. is an established international engineering, project management and technological and scientific applications firm. With almost 40 years of achievements, SMi operates worldwide in 30 countries, and in addition to IT technology integration, has completed many projects in other areas including hydroelectricity complex, civil works, energy, infrastructure, security and environmental. With his Telecommunication & Security department, SMi is specialized in securing and communicating encrypted information in the utilities, transport, infrastructure, energy and oil & gas projects. An overview of our integration capabilities clearly defines and demonstrates our ability to ensure the complete success of all projects from design to construction, all performed with remarkable speed and accuracy. SMi has strived to understand its client’s needs for optimal project execution. We pay particular attention to all the variances which make each project unique. This makes our dedicated professionals among the best in the world and delivers satisfactory results for our clients. groupesm.com

About PowerTrunk Inc.

PowerTrunk Inc. is the subsidiary of Teltronic® S.A.U.  responsible for business development, distribution and customer support for Teltronic land mobile radio projects in North America. PowerTrunk is headquartered in New York City. With 35 years’ experience designing, manufacturing, implementing and supporting digital and analog land mobile radio turnkey projects, Teltronic S.A.U. has more than 300 systems installed in 50 countries. Teltronic’s LMR solutions are widely deployed in the public safety, oil and gas, transportation and utilities industries. LMR equipment includes conventional and trunked infrastructure systems, mobiles, hand portables and dispatching consoles for TETRA, P25, WiMAX/LTE and MPT-1327 technologies. Headquartered in Spain, Teltronic S.A.U. has direct commercial presence in over 25 countries throughout Europe, Asia, the Pacific Rim, the Middle East, Latin America and the United States. For more information, go towww.powertrunk.com

PowerTrunk, Inc. Contact:
Yvonne Brown
1.617.489.9666
[email protected]

SMi:
Roch Landriault,
1.514.843.2345
[email protected]