"Serve with honor" is more than a motto at Taoglas. It’s a principle we bring to every product and partnership.

Welcome to the latest edition of O'Shea Insights, my newsletter to keep you informed about what's happening at Taoglas and the innovations shaping connectivity.

In this issue, I'm focusing on the public safety sector. With 22 years of experience supporting this critical industry, we understand its unique demands and are ready to respond to its requirements.  

Our Public Safety & Critical Infrastructure team collaborates closely with stakeholders across the public safety ecosystem, including IT, police, fire, and ambulance departments, as well as highway patrol units, environmental service departments, municipalities, value-added resellers, and distributors. By speaking with these stakeholders on a daily basis, we gain a clear understanding of the real-world challenges our customers face. 

So, what trends and challenges are we hearing about, and what solutions are we engineering in response?

Vehicle aesthetics, covertness, and ease of installation are becoming increasingly important. In real estate, city views and other prime locations get top dollar because they’re scarce. With police cruisers, ambulances and other first responder vehicles, the roof is beachfront property. In the past, police vehicles often had ten or more antennas. Today, agencies prefer cleaner and more discreet designs that help reduce costs and complexity. Fewer antennas translate to easier installations and lower maintenance.

This shift inspired our latest innovation: Patriot Series Antennas | Combination Antennas 

The Patriot antenna was developed following discussions with a state highway patrol agency. They communicated their need for faster installations, low-profile design, rugged durability, and minimal impact on the resale value of fleet vehicles. To put this into perspective, each drilled hole in a vehicle can cost up to $200 to repair during vehicle turnover. If a vehicle has ten holes, the repair costs can add up significantly across an entire fleet.

We took their feedback to heart and engineered a solution that meets all these needs. To see how simple installations can now be, check out our latest video featuring Nicolas Baird, Senior Mechanical Engineering Manager by clicking on the image below:

With rising demands for accountability and real-time data access, public safety agencies face growing pressure to stay connected. Increased public scrutiny means body and in-car cameras, voice recorders, drones, and other mission-critical tools must remain online to ensure officer safety and situational awareness.

Technology adoption in the sector is accelerating. Agencies are deploying multi-carrier 5G routers that automatically switch between networks to maintain the strongest possible connection. Departments that were once cautious about adopting new technology are now moving quickly to implement advanced connectivity solutions that meet today’s operational demands. 

At Taoglas, we recognize that as the demand for always-on connectivity increases, network architects are under pressure to deliver consistent performance across complex, distributed environments. That’s why we partner only with the best.

We recently announced a strategic collaboration with Semtech Corporation, a leading provider of high-performance semiconductor, IoT, and cloud connectivity solutions. Together, we offer a portfolio of high-performance antennas that are verified for use with Semtech’s AirLink routers. By ensuring seamless compatibility, we help customers avoid integration issues and focus on building reliable, application-ready systems. I am personally very happy and proud of this as we have been working with Sierra Wireless (now part of Semtech) as a partner for over 20 years.

All Taoglas antennas rated IP67 can withstand full water submersion up to 1 meter for 30 minutes. However, for fire trucks, ambulances, and other mission-critical vehicles, waterproofing alone is not enough; they require IP69K protection.

IP69K is the highest possible ingress protection rating. The "K" signifies resistance to high-pressure, high-temperature water jets and compliance with ISO 20653, the standard for automotive applications. This rating ensures durability against environmental challenges such as branches, cables, and aggressive cleaning methods.

The Taoglas Raptor X MA8010 is a prime example of this. This rugged cellular, GNSS, and Wi-Fi antenna is specifically designed for first responder vehicles that are frequently cleaned with hot, pressurized water.

Our engineering team recently wrote a blog discussing what IP ratings truly indicate about an antenna's durability. You can explore it here.