Safety radio sector receives a boost

Australia’s public safety communications sector has been boosted with the establishment of emergency and private mobile radio network specialist, Airwave Solutions Australia, that promises network resilience, security, coverage and interoperability for a wide variety of public safety agencies.

A partnership between Airwave Solutions (UK) and Broadcast Australia, the new company is said to be the only provider with a dedicated and independent focus on safety communications in the country.

According to CEO Malcolm Keys, government agencies want to introduce enhanced digital functionality and security into public safety networks, without compromising resilience and coverage.

“Our view is that the best path to achieving these goals is to deploy a single, shared, premium-quality network for all users,” he said.

“This is the most efficient use of government resources and has the added advantage of allowing cross-agency communication during a major incident.”

In Britain, Airwave has implemented one of the largest and most complex public safety communications services in the world.

The network currently serves more than 250 organisations across England, Scotland and Wales - including police, fire and ambulance - and has played a key role in several significant political and environmental incidents.

Broadcast Australia is one of the region’s leading independent and national operators of broadcast and critical wireless communications infrastructure. With nearly 600 transmission sites across Australia, its network is centrally monitored 24 hours a day. The company has extensive field service resources, including 125 field service technicians and over 500 first-in maintainers. Broadcast Australia has existing relationships with most state public safety agencies in Australia.