RACOM has been awarded the title of Company of the Year 2025 in the Vysočina Region. The jury particularly appreciated our long-term stability, engineering precision, and our ability to bring cutting-edge technology from a small Czech town to global markets.

“We do business because we believe that our work has a higher purpose. We want to be useful and contribute to a better world through the technologies we develop and manufacture ourselves. We want to show that even from a small town in Vysočina, we can create world-class technology. It makes sense for us to create job opportunities for talented people from the region and to be a good, trustworthy employer,” said Vít Koutenský, CEO, when accepting the award.

We see the Company of the Year title primarily as a recognition of everyone who works at RACOM — colleagues whose effort, expertise, and professionalism drive our company forward every day.

Our story began in 1989, and we have been dedicated to wireless communication since 1991. Today, our products operate in more than 130 countries worldwide. Designed and manufactured in our own facilities in Czechia, RACOM devices combine original research, precision engineering, and deep practical know-how — ensuring reliable operation of networks in critical infrastructure sectors.

We remain deeply connected to the region we come from and are proud that right here in Vysočina, we develop technology that makes the world safer and keeps essential services running — from flowing water and reliable electricity to stable internet connections.

Winning the regional round of the Company of the Year competition means advancing to the national finals on December 11 in Prague.

Regardless of the national results, this success already belongs to everyone who is part of RACOM.

Thank you to all our colleagues, partners, and friends for being part of our journey.

The story of the MR series radio modems is a great example of the lasting value, reliability, and long-term commitment RACOM provides to its customers. Introduced in 2005, their production will be discontinued on September 30, 2025, after twenty years on the market. Warranty and service for units already delivered, however, will of course continue.

RACOM products have always represented state-of-the-art technology at the time of their launch, and the MR series was no exception. Many users still rely on them today, even though they lack modern features such as a web interface. In many networks, generations of engineers have come and gone, and younger staff often don’t even realize which devices are transmitting their data—simply because the modems have never required their attention or servicing.

RACOM always strives to meet customer needs, which is why we manufacture our products as long as they are required. Although MR-based networks are still running, after twenty years they are technologically outdated and no longer meet today’s security requirements. Since they are typically deployed in critical infrastructure where security demands are the highest, gradual modernization is essential. Most customers prefer to continue using secure private radio networks and reliable RACOM devices, and are therefore replacing their MR modems with the latest RipEX2.

RACOM highlighted the need for migration as early as 2021 in a dedicated webinar. In recent years, numerous networks especially in the water industry have been modernized. In many applications, private radio is combined with cellular connectivity, either through the mPCIe cellular module integrated in RipEX2 or via the standalone M!DGE cellular router, which runs compatible firmware and complements RipEX2 seamlessly.

RACOM will never let its customers down. We still repair our very first product, the R2CW transceiver for radio-amateurs introduced back in 1989. MR radio modems whether under or out of warranty will continue to be serviced as well. However, as component availability declines, a day may come when certain repairs are no longer possible. That is yet another reason not to postpone migration.

We deeply appreciate all customers who use our products. If you are still operating MR modems (or legacy equipment from other manufacturers) and decide to modernize your network with RipEX2, we are ready to offer special migration conditions, including technical support. Contact us at racom@racom.eu, we will gladly advise you and help prepare your migration plan.

From 1 August 2025, the European Union’s updated Radio Equipment Directive (RED) introduces mandatory cybersecurity requirements for internet connected devices sold in the EU. These rules – covering network protection, data security, and fraud prevention – are now essential for obtaining the CE mark.

At RACOM, we are proud to confirm that our entire product portfolio – RAy3 microwave links, M!DGE3 cellular routers, and RipEX2 radio routers – already meets these new requirements. Even better, this compliance is delivered to our customers through free, regular, incremental firmware upgrades, ensuring your deployed devices stay secure and up to date without extra cost or disruption.

The updated RED focuses on three areas, with the first one being the most relevant for our type of devices:

• Network protection (Art. 3.3 d) – Devices must not harm networks or misuse resources in ways that degrade service quality.
• Data and privacy safeguards (Art. 3.3 e) – Strong encryption, secure authentication, and privacy-by-design measures must protect personal data at every stage.
• Fraud prevention (Art. 3.3 f) – Features like cryptographic FW signing, and anti-tampering mechanisms must prevent device cloning or misuse.

To help manufacturers demonstrate compliance, the EU published the EN 18031 series of harmonized standards in January 2025, giving a clear framework for building security into wireless products from the ground up.

Our engineering teams have ensured that RAy, M!DGE, and RipEX devices meet – and in many areas exceed – RED’s cybersecurity requirements. Network integrity is protected through secure firmware, various traffic encryption technologies and in the case of RipEX2 radio interface through our unique automatic AES key rotation.

We also make security effortless for users. Our new first-login procedure – featured in the short video below – guides every new owner through creating a custom username and password. A built-in visual password strength meter helps ensure that passwords are not just unique, but strong enough to withstand real-world threats.

When you choose RACOM, you get more than just hardware. You gain:

• Full EU RED cybersecurity compliance across RAy, M!DGE, and RipEX
• Free, incremental firmware feature and security updates that keep devices secure over time and even expand their capabilities
• Future-proof technology ready for evolving regulations and security challenges
• User-friendly setup that reduces support calls and speeds onboarding
• Long-term reliability and trust from a company with decades of industrial networking expertise

Watch our quick video to see how easy it is to set up your RACOM device securely from the very first login. With real-time password strength feedback, you can be confident your connection is protected from day one.

If you’d like to know which RACOM solution is the best fit for your IoT, SCADA, or telecom project, get in touch with our team today. We’ll help you deploy connectivity that’s secure, reliable, and ready for the future.

Securing essential human needs is at the heart of what we do. Delivering drinking water and keeping wastewater treatment plants running belong among the most fundamental requirements of every society. For over 30 years, RACOM equipment has been trusted in these critical infrastructures, providing reliable communication that keeps water networks safe, connected, and under control.

The very first RACOM radio modems were deployed in Czech and Slovak water networks back in 1994. Since then, our solutions have grown to power nearly all of the fifty largest water utilities in Czechia and they are now widely adopted abroad. In Austria and Norway, RACOM holds more than 80% market share. In Norway alone, where radio communication is indispensable due to harsh terrain and sparse population, our devices are in use across more than 100 locations.

Many of these radios have been running 24/7 for nearly three decades. While their reliability is unquestioned, the time has come to look ahead and prepare networks for new challenges.

Several key drivers make modernization essential:

• Cybersecurity & RED compliance – From 1 August 2025, all wireless devices sold in the EU must comply with the updated Radio Equipment Directive (RED). Its enhanced cybersecurity requirements go beyond what older radios including MR series and the original RipEX can support.
• Ease of operation – Modern SCADA teams expect user-friendly interfaces. Older radios often rely on command-line access only, which is no longer practical.
• Component availability – While RACOM continues to repair older products (and can even deliver new units in some cases), sourcing discontinued components is becoming increasingly difficult.
• Data capacity – Legacy radios cannot keep pace with the growing bandwidth needs of today’s SCADA systems.
• Hybrid networks – Modern water utilities often require combinations of private radio channels with public 4G/5G networks. Older radios were not built for this flexibility.

These challenges affect not only RACOM MR radios and the first-generation RipEX, but also third-party radios from Motorola, Kenwood, SATEL, CONEL, and others.

Utilities across Europe are already upgrading to RipEX2 and M!DGE:

• Vodovody a kanalizace Havlíčkův Brod (CZ) replaced 17-year-old MR400 modems with RipEX2.“RipEX2 solved our network capacity issue. It’s also the first step towards migrating the whole system to modern IP communications fully aligned with current SCADA requirements.”
• Vodovody a kanalizace Hradec Králové (CZ) moved from Conel radios to a hybrid RipEX2 + M!DGE3 solution, using mobile networks as backup channels.
• Liptovská vodárenská spoločnosť (SK) is migrating from Motorola and Kenwood radios to RipEX2 in the Low Tatras.“RipEX2 brought us the security upgrade we needed, without losing performance,” says the LVS network manager.
• Trenčianske vodárne a kanalizácie (SK) replaced 112 RipEX units with RipEX2, complemented by M!DGE routers for secure remote access.“We wanted a smooth transition. RipEX2’s compatibility with our existing setup made the migration straightforward,” explains the operations manager.
• Brněnské vodárny a kanalizace (CZ) are deploying M!DGE3 alongside RipEX2, creating an independent, cybersecure channel for sensitive systems.
• In Austria and Norway, utilities are replacing legacy networks with RipEX2 to achieve RED compliance without reducing availability during migration.

Even in networks where RAy microwave links provide high-capacity backbone connectivity (e.g. VaK Hodonín or JVS), RipEX2 plays a crucial role by delivering secure and reliable last-mile radio communication.

Moving to RipEX2 brings far more than RED compliance:

• Future-proof performance with high throughput and low latency
• Compatibility with existing devices for phased migrations
• Enhanced network capability with modern, more powerful radios
• Downtime-free deployment thanks to RACOM’s Migration Solution
• Long-term security with free, regular, incremental firmware updates

For operators, this means extending the life of their infrastructure while gaining confidence that their network is ready for the next decades.

Whether you are replacing a handful of radios or planning a full network upgrade, RipEX2 offers a secure, reliable, and fully RED-compliant solution for your water distribution system.

When combined with M!DGE cellular routers for hybrid access and RAy microwave links for backbone connectivity, RACOM delivers an integrated communication platform for critical infrastructure,  serving rural communities, cities, and national networks alike.

Contact our team to explore your upgrade options and see how RipEX2, M!DGE3 and RAy3 can bring your network into the future — securely, smoothly, and without disruption.

Our colleagues Petr Šefara and Adam Svoboda visited the Technical High School in Žďár nad Sázavou to give final-year students of electrical engineering and IT a firsthand insight into the world of RACOM.

They didn’t just introduce the company — they also offered students a behind-the-scenes look at our production engineering department. A key focus was on the modern trend of data analysis using AI, a topic that Petr actively works on. Our extensive database of product information provides a unique opportunity for this — we store over 20,000 rows of data for each RipEX radio modem!

We hope we didn’t just inspire the students, but also encouraged them to continue their studies in electrical engineering and radio communication. Who knows — some of them might become our future colleagues!

Collaborating with local schools is one way we aim to retain young talent in our region. We want to show students that meaningful careers in modern technology are not limited to big cities. While RACOM products are used in over 130 countries worldwide, our roots remain firmly in Vysočina — and we are committed to making it a great place to both live and work.