Mingara Australasia wins innovation award

Mingara Australasia, a long-standing and leading provider of independent telecommunications and ICT consulting advice, was happy to have recently been announced as a joint recipient of the 2016 Queensland Premier’s iAward for Public Sector Innovation for their work on the Government Wireless Network (GWN).

Although proud that their technical capability was recognised, Mingara was equally excited that their management expertise, stakeholder engagement and innovative delivery approach was acknowledged with this prestigious award.

The iAward recognised and applauded the innovative project management and stakeholder engagement techniques adopted by DSITI and Mingara (who this year celebrated their 20th anniversary), as well as Mingara’s hard work and commitment to excellence in their technical/project assurance role.

Appointed as the technical adviser for the GWN by Projects Queensland in 2012, Mingara (in conjunction with the State and public safety agencies) prepared the technical specifications and associated tender schedule documents, and later reviewed tender responses and participated in contract negotiations.

Subsequent to the granting of the contract (to Telstra, valued at $457m over 15 years), the Queensland Government appointed Mingara the technical adviser for the implementation of the GWN.

DSITI’s approach was to integrate Mingara into the project team and use them in a hands-on technical assurance role, from project commencement right through to the final commissioning of the GWN. This proved to be an insightful strategy, which assisted in driving project outcomes in a timely and cost efficient manner.

On discussing the GWN engagement with Mingara, it is evident that they thoroughly enjoyed working with DSITI and the team of dedicated Agency representatives on the implementation of the network. Mingara are excited to have since been granted the opportunity to continue to support the Queensland Government, and are now assisting with the development of the Business Case for Public Safety Regional Radio Communications in Queensland. Managing Director, Gerard Cusick, also expressed his pride in Mingara’s team of advisers and support staff who played a key role in the GWN project’s success.

It was this hard work and commitment which contributed to Mingara and DSITI being joint recipients of the Queensland Premier's iAward for Public Sector Innovation.

About Mingara

Over the past two decades, Mingara has applied its deep knowledge of critical communications to assist government, public safety agencies, utilities and the rail industry across a broad spectrum of assignments, some recent examples of which include:

• A review of the S.A. Government Radio Network (SAGRN) usage and performance during the Pinery Fire.
• Communications Design and Technology Adviser for the Victorian Regional Rail Link project, and more recently the Level Crossing Removal Project, providing expertise for the train radio systems and fibre optic cable sub-systems.
• Technical Adviser to the South Australian, Victorian and Tasmanian governments in consideration of their future public safety communication needs.

Mingara’s key focus is on providing support and expertise to telecommunications projects of all guises and sizes. However, Mingara is also deeply committed to understanding the opportunities that technology innovation can provide, so that they can best advise their clients on how to reap the associated benefits.

Examples of this are the Next Generation Triple Zero (NG000) and the transition from Land Mobile Radio (LMR) solutions to LTE, which are now just around the corner.

Innovations such as these offer enormous potential, for example in the public safety and health sectors, and can unlock access to rich information and improve situational awareness and community outcomes. However, the rewards and risks can also be significant and require diligent, expert decision-making and planning to optimise the benefits, both technically and financially.

Whether a new, innovative technology is being considered, or the upgrade or audit of an existing telecommunications arrangement, Mingara prides itself on maintaining an experienced and dynamic team of advisers who can provide the necessary insight, guidance and technical experience.

It’s a time of substantial change and innovation in the ICT and telecommunications industry and Mingara is excited to be a key part of it.