It just keeps on growing

I keep on saying it and now I’m going to say it again - RadioComms Connect was the busiest, the biggest and the best in its relatively brief four-year history. From small beginnings it has grown to last year’s size that even forced onto the concourse of the stadium two companies. But they didn’t seem to worry as people passed to and from on their way to the presentations.

So for two days the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne saw a constant flow of people as delegates and visitors attended the more than 20 presentations, workshops and panel discussions and some 50 exhibition stands.

The presentation of technical papers, always a drawcard, was no disappointment this time with both streams pulling in eager listeners. Worth a special mention was the paper on interoperability, particularly in the public safety sector, which was one presentation extremely well attended to hear Des Bahr, director of the National Safety Agency and CEO of APCO Australasia, pull this current, vital topic into yet sharper focus.

The number of people listening was a clear indication of how important this issue is now being taken by the whole community but especially by those in the radio industry who have the tools to make it happen.

The growing strength between the radio industry and the ACMA is not only good for the industry itself but also for those within it who, over the years, considered that government and its treatment of spectrum has been a little ad hoc if not indifferent. Now that the ACMA has become so much more proactive on many two-way radio issues, a new dawn has broken that will hopefully see the industry grow from strength to strength with a more direct voice to government.

As an example of this growing understanding, a particularly close bond has been formed between the industry and the authority over the 400 MHz issue with reallocation of spectrum of vital interest to all two-way operators and manufacturers. This massive task is ongoing having started more than two years ago.

This made a summary of the story so far by Andrew Stewart, senior engineer, National Interest Planning Section, Spectrum Infrastructure Branch of the ACMA, very pertinent as he discussed the band’s future and outlined the final steps in implementing the decisions.

A subject that is sometimes talked about but rarely turned into a formal presentation is people or how the industry can take steps to ensure there are sufficient engineers and technicians to take over when the current workforce gets too tired to carry on.

Ian Millar, general manager of AA Radio Services and prime mover behind ARCIA, took the bull by the horns during a panel discussion that covered not only the problems of attracting recruits to the industry but also provided valuable advice on how to sell a business and what steps to take to ensure the best possible price. (See separate story in this issue.)

RadioComms Connect is nothing if it’s not a forum for networking and meeting old friends and the ARCIA-organised dinner provided just the right event for this to happen. Yet again records were broken. The dinner, at the Palladium restaurant high up in the casino, was sold out two weeks before the event, and on the night, 402 diners sat down.

This year there was a special guest and something of a coup for ARCIA. Illustrating still further the growing bond between the two-way users and the ACMA, Chris Chapman, chairman of the authority, was recognised for the authority’s contribution to the 400 MHz issue. (See panel.)

Although largely an informal evening, there was a more serious side when various industry achievers were recognised by their peers with the presentation of awards.

Always the top award is the Jonathan Livingstone that this year went to Rod Dowling, manager ICT strategy, office of the CIO, South Australian government. The award recognises high achievement and help to others.

Ben Woods, an apprentice at Tetracom in Adelaide, accompanied the dealer principal, Jeff Parry, to receive a plaque commemorating the Sir Angus Tait Memorial Scholarship for 2010. The scholarship is an initiative of Tait Communications, Westwick-Farrow, RadioComms Connect and ARCIA and is awarded in memory of the founder of Tait to a communications student to encourage participation in the radio industry.

Ian Miller, founder of AA Radio and an icon of the radio industry, was recognised by his peers with a lifetime membership of ARCIA. Ian has been a long-time promoter of the radio industry, committed to protecting spectrum, encouraging involvement in forming standards and until the dinner was the holder of the Jonathan Livingston Award.

Other winners were:

• Professional sales - Devran Roberts of National Wireless;
• Customer Service - Sally McGrath of C&A Communications;
• Technical Excellence - Gavin Jenkins of Kenwood Electronics;
• Engineering Elegance - DSP Repeater team, RFI;
• New Talent - Melanie Arnott of Mobile Masters;
• Apprentice - Ryan McCabe of Tait Radio Communications;
• Peter Wallace - Katrine Lutze of CRS Accessories.

ARCIA award for ACMA

In his address to the ARCIA dinner, Chris Chapman said:

“The 400 MHz review has been a long one, from inception in around 2005, to the first paper in 2008 and recently the roadshows. We never thought it would be an easy journey, but we knew it was a journey we needed to make for both the industry and those government agencies reliant on this spectrum who ensure the safety of the community and have operated on sub-optimal approaches and spectrum choices thus far.

When the debate began, the ACMA knew that full, open and attentive consultation was the only way that we would navigate around some of the potholes ahead of us. In fact, our mantra is to communicate, facilitate and (only then) regulate.

With the assistance of ARCIA we now find we are successfully at the end of phase one of this journey (the assessment and determination phase). So your recognition of our efforts to this point is truly appreciated and again, on behalf of the ACMA and my colleagues, thank you.

Of course ahead of us is the transition phase and I understand that ARCIA has offered to assist the ACMA during this second but equally important part of the review, Such cooperative endeavour between industry and regulator is a useful reminder of the wonders of cooperation - as the ACMA continues to dream of creating the world’s best solution in this space - and so I am thrilled at your offer.

As you have recognised, communication is key to successful regulatory reform, as is education and transparency. The ACMA strives to ensure that we are always at the forefront of each.

To that end and at this dinner, I would like to take the opportunity to show our latest spectrum chart and to make a number of these new and innovative charts available to ARCIA for distribution to members, students and the industry. Wouldn’t it be terrific if every child in this country (and a few older citizens) took an active interest in spectrum - they should, it’s a big part of their future,

This chart removes the ambiguity of the previous allocations chart and brings the world of spectrum to the ordinary person in a colourful and informative way. I hope it becomes the centrepiece of everybody’s wall and a useful training aid in technical colleges and universities around Australia. I am certainly proud of it and the people within the ACMA who devised it.

So again, thank you for the award and, more importantly, recognition of the effort that the ACMA has put in to making the road to 400 MHz reform as easy as possible. But most of all, thank you for your help.”

Pulling in the young people

Ensuring that there are enough young people to take up the reins of the radio industry is of major concern to those still working. Radio is not seen as a particularly glamorous area in which to work but as Ian Miller pointed out as part of a panel discussion, not everyone has to be of nuclear scientist level to make a worthwhile contribution to the industry.

It is necessary to find a degree of entrepreneurial talent coupled with an essential technical expertise or at least understanding. To make radio attractive to potential entrants the industry must be seen to be vibrant, reactive to clients’ requirements and be technologically up to date.

Technical training has great relevance to success.

“The radio industry is beyond the ‘black box’ era and is now more involved in systems engineering,” says Ian, who is general manager of AA Radio Services.

However, he believes the formula for the future is success = technical ability + entrepreneurial ability + management ability + financial ability.

But all is not gloom and doom, he pointed out. ARCIA has established a training subcommittee, the RMIT has established industry advisory groups and there are now sponsorships and scholarships to encourage those thinking of taking up a radio career.

However, training has to cover an ever-widening range of knowledge which at the moment stands at electronics, RF, telecommunications and information technology, and IP.

But even with technical training in place, Ian says that business management, accounting principles and entrepreneurial focus must be part of an overall education. To this must be added knowledge of project management and an awareness of engineering ethics, which are not necessarily covered in technical courses.

So how do we address the gap?

He suggests mentoring staff who show talent and create opportunities for personal and professional development. Management traineeships with accountability should be available and staff should not be isolated, they should be involved. Finally, he says, instigate personal development programs with transitional leadership and the future of the radio industry may be secure.