Digi TX40 Cellular Router Solution – Use Cases and Advantages

Secure, reliable connectivity is critical for first responders and law enforcement officers in the field. Responding to an emergency or assisting the public in a natural disaster requires continuous access to information and resources. Additionally, reliable communications equipment is essential for coordinating efforts and supporting ongoing situational awareness for personnel and command.

Achieving reliable and secure connectivity for public safety vehicles is an enormous challenge. Not only does carrier coverage change as emergency vehicles move from point to point, but emergency response teams often travel to areas with limited public network availability. Additionally, natural disasters can damage public infrastructure and cause members of the public to flood the networks, resulting in connectivity challenges or network capacity overloading, potentially hindering response efforts.

Fortunately, the critical connectivity solution for first responders is here. The Digi TX40 5G cellular router — part of the complete Digi SAFE™ solution — provides public safety service fleets with the rugged, reliable, and secure connectivity solutions they need. From secure data sharing to highly reliable communications for situational awareness, and connectivity for all onboard and body-worn systems, Digi TX40 creates a robust vehicle area network (VAN) that provides first responders with the latest generation of wireless technology, all in an affordable, easy-to-deploy format.

Meet the Digi TX40 Cellular Solution

Digi TX40 is a cutting-edge 5G/4G LTE connectivity solution designed to match the unique needs of public safety service fleets. Digi TX40 eliminates communication silos, supports real-time data sharing, and ensures secure, reliable connectivity for all connected devices, including computers, sensors, body cameras and more.

With Digi TX40, public safety officers gain access to the latest wireless technologies, including 5G and Wi-Fi 6 — as well as advanced mobile connectivity and cybersecurity capabilities. 5G connectivity offers massive improvements in speed and reduced latency to support real-time communication and the critical data transmission requirements of public safety officers.

Digi TX40 and Digi Remote Manager
Digi TX40 was purpose built with key features for public safety organizations to address their common needs:

  • Staying on, staying connected — anywhere
    • IP64-rated hardened device enclosures
    • Integrated Digi SureLink® for connection persistence
    • Support for first responder networks: FirstNet®, Verizon Frontline, T-Mobile Connecting Heroes
  • Managing data overload
    • 5G / 4G LTE with 3G fallback
    • Wi-Fi 6 dual-band connectivity
  • Ensuring security and privacy on the go
    • WPA/WPA2/WPA3 security
    • Built-in Digi TrustFence®
    • Support for the Digi Mobile VPN value-added service
  • Upgrading to new technology under cost and resource constraints
    • Digi TX40 is priced for precincts of all sizes
    • The solution is designed for a long product lifecycle, and can scale to meet increased requirements
    • 3+ year warranty
  • Thwarting cybersecurity threats
    • FIPS 140-2 validated to support compliance with the FIPS cybersecurity standard
  • Managing the proliferation of connected devices
    • One router to manage them all
    • 2 RJ-45 Ethernet ports
    • ITxPT connectivity certified for interoperability
    • Serial, USB, and dual-SIM support
    • WAN or LAN configurable
  • Managing a mobile connected network with situational awareness
    • Digi Remote Manager® for network-wide remote management
    • Dedicated multi-constellation GNSS receiver with Untethered Dead Reckoning (UDR) ensures dispatch centers can track exact vehicle locations
    • Geofence support

Managing Digi TX40 cellular routers across the entire agency’s vehicle fleet is seemless, via Digi Remote Manager (Digi RM) — Digi’s configuration and remote management platform. Digi RM streamlines setup for rapid deployments. The Digi Remote Manager architecture is built for scalability, allowing for large-scale deployment without unnecessary complexity.​

Part of Digi SAFE™ — A Complete Solution for the Critical Connectivity Needs of First Responders

First responders are on the front lines, and often on the move. They need always on, always connected, and always secure connectivity supporting reliable communications for all onboard and body-worn devices and peripherals. Digi has developed a complete solution to meet these needs, called Digi SAFE™.

Digi SAFE

 

Digi SAFE™ is a complete connectivity solution for emergency responders and public safety organizations, offering always-on connectivity for first responder vehicles, to ensure reliable and secure mobile connectivity.

This solution is designed enable secure, reliable connectivity for first responder vehicles. It includes:

  • Digi TX40 — purpose-built, robust, secure, hardened mobile cellular router for first responders
  • Digi Remote Manager® — Digi’s sophisticated platform for managing configurations, security monitoring, performance and remote device management
  • The Digi Accelerated Linux Operating System (DAL OS) — the powerful intelligent operating system embedded within Digi wireless devices, providing an expansive suite of features and capabilities that enhance the value and the effectivness of the solution
  • Digi TrustFence® — Digi’s integrated, multi-layer device security framework, offering a host of security features including secure connections, protected hardware ports and authentication
  • Digi SureLink® — software supporting an “always-on” connection that helps mitigate interruptions in service, with a programmable inactivity timer and a pro-active link integrity function
  • Value-added services to augment your solution stack to meet your agency’s specific requirements

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Digi TX40 Advantages

For public safety organizations and fleet services, Digi TX40 provides an array of advantages that aren’t always capturable through other solutions. Here are some of the key benefits of the Digi TX40 cellular solution.

  • Security: Digi TX40 meets the FIPS 140-2 standard and supports Digi TrustFence®, while the Digi Mobile VPN add-on creates encrypted, end-to-end tunnels to secure communications and safeguard data in transit.
  • Reliability: WAN bonding and multi-SIM support provide failover protection to ensure ongoing connectivity, while 5G technology lowers latency and enhances speed.
  • Centralized management: Digi Remote Manager simplifies configuration and deployment while enhancing visibility and creating access to real-time insights to support data-driven decision-making.
  • Ease-of-use: Digi TX40 offers a streamlined experience for deploying organizations and first responders alike, providing continuous connectivity while eliminating pain points that can hinder operations.

Digi TX40 Use Cases and Examples

Police vehicle technology

Public safety agencies and fleet services have unique and complex needs — especially today, with the number of onboard systems proliferating, and the critical need for secure and reliable communications. Digi TX40 is designed to meet the range of needs for first responders. Here are six use cases.

1. First Responder Vehicle Area Networks

Digi TX40 breaks down communication silos and seamlessly connects the growing list of equipment in a vehicle into a fast and reliable vehicle area network (VAN). It enables technology consolidation within the vehicle, with multiple SIMs, antenna connections and ports to support the full range of connectivity needs and peripherals. One router does it all.

2. Emergency Response Management

During emergencies, ongoing connectivity is necessary to support real-time communication and data-sharing, along with multi-agency collaboration. Digi TX40 and the Digi SAFE solution enable resource management, response coordination, cross-departmental communication, and data-sharing  and integration of FirstNet® and other first responder networks ensures communications reliability even in public emergencies. Plus, the reliable connectivity ensures coverage in challenging conditions and creates solutions when public networks are strained, allowing communication and data-sharing to continue seamlessly.

3. Mobile Command Center Communications

Large-scale emergencies often dictate the creation of a mobile command center to coordinate multi-agency efforts. Digi TX40 provides continuous connectivity to response coordinators even in remote locations. And with connection ports for a range of peripherals and communication systems, it enables the mobile command center to become a communications hub.

4. Remote Resource Access

Public safety professionals often need secure access to digital resources while on the go. Digi TX40 enables rapid, secure access to critical records, knowledge libraries, the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS). FIPS 140-2 compliance, enabled via a firmware update with Digi Remote Manager, ensures data-in-transit is encrypted and secure.

Police device connectivity

5. Live Video Streaming

The Digi TX40 provides the reliable, 5G high-speed connectivity public safety organizations need to support high-resolution, real-time video. Dispatchers, command personnel, public safety officers, and other first responders can maintain situational awareness when arriving on the scene, increasing safety and supporting strategic responses that adapt to shifting conditions during emergencies.

6. Connection Persistence

Ongoing connectivity is essential for supporting first responders in the field, something that’s challenging to achieve in remote locations or when emergencies hinder public network reliability. With the Digi TX40, network resilience is built-in with dual SIM support to provide dual carrier diversity and failover. And optional services including Digi WAN Bonding — to ensure the most reliable connection — as well as Digi Mobile VPN with seamless ongoing authentication, enable personnel to remain connected even if a single point fails.

Digi’s Value-Added Services

Digi provides advanced features and functionality that can be added onto your Digi SAFE™ solution to further enhance the capabilities of your technology. These solutions are enabled by Digi Remote Manager and the DAL operating system, and are available as add-on services with your Digi Remote Manager Premier license.

Digi Mobile VPN

Digi Mobile VPNThe Digi Mobile VPN value-added service includes cutting-edge technology created in partnership with Radio IP. With Mobile VPN, vehicles, mobile command centers, and first responders in the field can maintain secure wireless connections thanks to encrypted point-to-point tunnels.

Digi Mobile VPN is CJIS-compliant, ensuring data-in-transit remains fully secured and underlying digital assets are protected in support of chain of custody requirements. Additionally, connections are less susceptible to interception and hacking, ensuring shared data and communications remain private.

This technology goes beyond common failover and connection persistence services by ensuring always-on, network-agnostic connectivity that works seamlessly across wireless networks in moving vehicles. Most importantly, it offers uninterrupted authentication for all onboard devices and applications, so there is never a need for re-authentication as cellular service shifts across carrier networks.

Digi WAN Bonding

Digi WAN BondingDigi WAN Bonding vastly improves network performance and reliability by actively and seamlessly aggregating all available network connections, and selecting the best one available. The features of this service include:

  • Hot failover: Digi’s bonded tunnel interface stays up across all WAN links with no packet loss or failover wait time
  • WAN aggregation: Combines multiple WAN links for increased speed and bandwidth for one or multiple devices, up to a maximum bandwidth of 1 Gbps
  • WAN smoothing: Reduces latency and jitter by sending data through multiple channels simultaneously to eliminate packet loss and maintain connection resiliency
  • WAN prioritization: Automatically senses or manually sets the best active WAN link and balances traffic accordingly
  • Packet duplication: Ensures delivery of mission-critical data by replicating packets on multiple WAN links
  • Simple integration: Digi WAN Bonding is easy to deploy on a range of Digi enterprise (EX), industrial (IX) and transportation (TX) routers in a variety of public and private environments at fixed or mobile locations via Digi Remote Manager
  • Increased throughput: Digi WAN Bonding offers 100 Mbps, 200 Mbps and 1 Gbps max throughput subscription options

Digi Containers

Digi ContainersDigi Containers simplify and centralize the process of building, deploying and running custom applications on devices managed with Digi Remote Manager® (Digi RM) as the central portal.

Containers with custom programs or Python applications can be loaded via Digi RM on any device running the Digi Accelerated Linux operating system (DAL OS).

As an add-on service to Digi Remote Manager, Digi Containers are a powerful capability implemented via Lightweight Linux Containers (LXC). LXC tools enable developers to package up a custom application, with its dependencies and configuration, into a lightweight, portable bundle that shares only the running kernel with the host device.

Conclusion

Digi TX40 is purpose-built for public safety organizations and fleet services, offering dependable connectivity and leading security. As a 5G device, it provides ample speed, supporting real-time communications and data-sharing. Plus, it’s a cost-effective solution that’s highly scalable, offering centralized management for streamlined deployments and ongoing monitoring and support.

The Digi TX40 5G cellular router is part of the complete Digi SAFE™ solution, which includes robust hardware, sophisticated software with advanced features and functionality for public safety service fleets, as well as a host of value-added services to augment your technology stack. This complete solution provides the rugged, reliable, and secure connectivity solution first responders need, from secure data-sharing to highly reliable communications for situational awareness, and connectivity for all onboard and body-worn systems.

Next Steps

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