Tait and ETC Provide Solutions for USA Utilities

Tait Technology Partner Essential Trading Systems Corp (ETC) designs and produces a variety of Radio over IP (RoIP) consoles to quickly and easily connect station, branch, and in-field staff, as well as emergency services.  Mason County Public Utility District 3 and Golden Valley Electric Association selected Tait radio networks with ETC consoles for reliable and affordable communications solutions.

Mason County Public Utility District 3

Public Utility Districts are formed by rural communities to get electrical, water, sewer, and telecommunications services at cost, without profit.  In Washington State, 24 PUDs are the source of electricity for almost 700,000 customers.  Mason County PUD 3 supplies 34,000 customers around Shelton, Washington with electricity and fiber optic.

Pacific Electronics Inc. supplied a Tait Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) communications solution, integrated with console equipment from Essential Trading Systems Corp.  The communications network operates across 7 sites, utilizing Tait DMR Tier 3 trunking, TB9300 base stations, and mid-tier Dell network controllers with a high availability feature for redundancy backup.  34 ETC CS-64 Desktop Consoles are connected to the network via a multicast gateway, and a Tait Network Gateway that converts the audio to 4-wire E&M.

The desktop consoles are in use at several locations and allow the station users immediate access to the Tait DMR network.  The users can also contact or broadcast to other station users on the other console station channels independent of the radio network for administrative discussions.

In addition to the reliable field communications provided by the Tait DMR network, the ETC consoles are an effective and affordable access point to the network for people in stations.

Golden Valley Electric Association

The Golden Valley Electric Association serves 100,000 residents over a 5,973 square mile (15,470 square kilometer) territory in Alaska, USA.  GVEA has nine generating facilities and maintains a diverse fuel mix to help stabilize costs for its community.

Due to the sub-arctic climate of the Alaskan interior, GVEA deal with many storms and snowfalls that threaten to interrupt their services.  Despite this, GVEA has a strong commitment to reliability.  It is therefore paramount that they have reliable communications coverage to maintain efficiency and safety when in the field.  GVEA wanted to upgrade their MPT classic system to increase the reliability of coverage, and reduce costs.

GVEA chose to upgrade to a Tait MPT-IP system due to its proven track record and reliable coverage that offers wide-area communications.  Local Tait dealer Revl Communications then installed 12 ETC CS-74 SIP Desktop Consoles in various remote locations to increase access to the Tait radio system.

There is no longer a need for dedicated leased lines and remote analog radio stations, saving GVEA time and money.  Using existing IP infrastructure, the mini-SIP consoles connect to the Tait radio via VoIP.

This new solution not only increases reliability but reduces recurring monthly network costs for the association.

Tait has a long history of partnering with experts to deliver critical communications solutions tailor made for the unique needs of Utilities companies. Learn more about how we can help with our Solutions for Utilities. Read our Utilities Client Stories, organizations taking advantage of Tait solutions to improve worker safety and productivity.


Explore common challenges utilities face, and learn about communications tools for utility-specific requirements in our white paper:  Critical Communications for Utilities – choosing the right technology for now, and the future.

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