Everyone at CCS wants to thank all of our customers, partners, and suppliers for their continued support as 2022 winds down and 2023 is just over the horizon. Despite the lingering affects of COVID, 2022 was a very busy year for us especially in terms of new large mobile command center build outs which included customers like Bexar County, TX OEM, Oncor Energy, Texas Dept. of Public Safety, State of Louisiana Fire Marshall’s Office, State of California Office of Emergency Services, the State of Kansas, and many more. This year also saw us continue to expand on our product offerings including video wall boards, Vorbeck wireless mesh equipment, Kymeta flat panel satellite equipment, PERC JPS kits focused on radio interoperability, Motorola Vigilant LPR technology, Dejero multi-sim routers that utilize bonding software, mobile crime lab units, and portable tower systems. We were able to add some additional labor resources to both our production staff and IT staff to support this increased growth.
This year did not go by without it’s share of challenges, most notably the ongoing supply chain issues. Products and parts that we are normally able to source in a few days or weeks are now taking months to procure. This has caused our buildout lead times to grow and has created a backlog of orders that we continue to work through. There have been price increases across the board on most parts which affects us and our customers. We have implemented a progress payment plan on all build outs now due to the longer build out times as we wait on parts to be delivered. Customers have been very understanding and flexible to work with us and that is very much appreciated.
2023 is looking to be a very exciting year as a great deal of new technology is prepared to be launched. Elon Musk was a little bit ahead of the curve with his new StarLink satellite network, but there are about to be several more products and service offerings rolled out in 2023. Amazon, OneWeb, and Telesat are racing to launch large systems of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites to provide Internet access. Advances in space technology have enabled satellites in low earth orbit (LEO), under 2,000 km from the ground, to provide Internet access that is faster and higher capacity. What is exciting about all of this is that basically now a user can have one device or piece of hardware that allows them to communicate anywhere in the world. Remote and rural areas that have never had network connectivity will now have access to high-speed internet service! What we are all anxiously waiting to see is what the rate plans for this new service will be. StarLink’s plans are already public, but some of the others have not been announced yet. CCS is working closely with our technology partners to make sure we are prepared for whatever comes next in this arena.
I hope everyone has a great and safe Christmas and a happy New Year! CCS will be hosting several road shows around the country in 2023 and attending several regional and national tradeshows. We will have a schedule up on our website after the first of the year.