Telstra's LANES ready for action

Telstra’s public safety mobile broadband capability (PSMB) offering, LANES Emergency, will be available for use by Australian emergency services organisations (ESOs) this summer.

Telstra National General Manager Public Safety and Security Alex Stefan said LANES Emergency technology enables ESOs to interoperate and communicate with each other, and could provide significant cost savings for government organisations.

“Preserving the safety, security and prosperity of Australian communities is an essential role provided by our emergency services and Telstra is committed to providing innovative solutions and capabilities to support them,” he said.

“We’re excited LANES Emergency will soon be available to help ESOs manage the summer period and the extreme weather that often comes with it.”

LANES Emergency was developed in collaboration with Ericsson to provide ESOs the opportunity to increase their network capability, coverage and reach, without building their own private network, by offering priority access on Telstra’s LTE network.

The PSMB solution will be available in two forms — LANES Emergency Priority, which will provide access to Telstra’s LTE spectrum, and LANES Emergency Tailored, which will combine customer-owned spectrum with access to Telstra’s LTE spectrum.

Stefan said the technology will enable critical information to be shared in real time. For example, it will provide police with access to real-time information that includes their identification process, which previously relied on a verbal descriptions via the radio network, as well as access mobile data-based services, letting them check photo ID or real-time CCTV.

An Australian Productivity Commission report has suggested that a commercial PSMB such as LANES has the potential to save ESOs $4 billion over 20 years compared to the cost of running their own systems.

“Telstra will be initially providing access to up to 160 MHz of Telstra LTE spectrum, including our 700 MHz band, for use by ESOs under this new offering,” Stefan concluded.

LANES technology has been successfully trialled by a number of ESOs during high network-usage events in recent years. In 2014, it was used by police during the G20 summit in Brisbane.

Image courtesy Telstra.