Friday fragments — critical comms snippets for 13 November 2015

A round-up of the week's critical communications and public safety radio news for Friday, 13 November 2015.

Comms Connect Melbourne just weeks away. If you haven’t registered yet to attend Comms Connect in Melbourne (2–3 December, plus workshops on 1 December), now’s the time to do so. With more than 80 speakers covering a variety of topics that span the gamut of critical communications, plus more than 80 exhibitors on the showroom floor, this is your best chance all year to catch up with industry colleagues and check out the latest technologies. Head to the Comms Connect website for registration, speaker and exhibitor information.

Peruvian city goes with TETRA. Hytera Mobilfunk Sucursal del Peru has been chosen to implement an ACCESSNET-T IP TETRA system and an Emergency Control Centre for the Provincial Municipality of Tumbes. Different organisations within Tumbes will be equipped with PT580H TETRA handhelds and MT680 TETRA mobile radios. In addition, five Fast Relief Security Centres will be equipped with MT680B TETRA fixed stations.

NZ tower comes down. As foreshadowed recently in Friday Fragments, two Radio New Zealand towers were earmarked for demolition. One of them has now come down. You can watch the video here.

Third time unlucky for radio system. A US county has, for the third time, failed to agree on a plan for a new county-wide emergency comms network. Harris Corp was one of the bidders. In fact, it was the recommended bidder when a decision was first supposed to have been made, but county officials couldn’t decide and failed to vote. The vote was a delayed a second time, while a consultant was brought in to advise on what the country should do. The consultant recommended Harris, but again county officials couldn’t agree.

French to trial LTE at airport. A trial of 700 MHz LTE is underway at the Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Paris. Aéroports de Paris unit Hub One will test the system with police, fire and security services to see if it is a viable replacement for the current PMR system.

German state goes with Motorola. The Central Procurement Office of Schleswig-Holstein AoR (GMSH) of the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein has ordered 25,000 new TETRA units and accessories from Motorola Solutions.

Dealer closes doors. A two-way radio dealer in the US has shut up shop after nearly 70 years in business. McCord Communications was established as a family business in 1947, moving into public safety radio in 1966.