PUBLIC SAFETY UPGRADES Jonathan Nally
Tasmania’s emergency services interoperability gateway will soon be boosted with a new common dispatch system.
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asmania’s remote population centres and sometimes rugged terrain can present significant challenges to first responders when disaster strikes — and less-than-ideal comms can often make the situation worse. One outcome of the inquiry held in the aftermath of the state’s devastating 2013 bushfires was recognition of the need to improve interoperability of communications between emergency services agencies and other organisations. The solution chosen was an ‘interoperability gateway’ that would act as a bridge between disparate communications systems. Tasmania Police and the other emergency services operate on different networks. The police and, to a much smaller extent, the SES, operate on the government’s Trunk Mobile Radio Network (TMRN), which is a digital-capable network. It’s also used by the Tasmanian electricity supply industry (TESI), which comprises Hydro Tasmania (the power generator) and TasNetworks (the grid operator).
12 Critical Comms - Jul/Aug 2016
The TMRN is based on Harris Corporation EDACS 800 MHz proprietary technology, which enables analog and digital communications using the same infrastructure. The TMRN was constructed and commissioned by Ericsson in the mid-1990s. The Tasmania Fire Service and Ambulance Tasmania, meanwhile, use a series of 70 MHz analog networks. The Tasmanian Department for Police and Emergency Management (DPEM) issued a tender in early 2015 for ongoing operation and maintenance of the TMRN, with the aim of letting a contract for services for a period of three years with the option of two, 1-year options. DPEM required that services were to be delivered using the existing network equipment, infrastructure and reporting systems as far as is practicable. Ericsson was the successful tenderer, given a four-year contract to provide for the ongoing operation, monitoring, maintenance and security of the network.
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