Digital communications for Colombian Red Cross

The Colombian Red Cross is the core part of two-way communications in the event of an emergency in Columbia.

The organisation was looking for a safe and efficient communication that can integrate communication networks of different cities for simultaneous communications.

The non-governmental organisation undertakes humanitarian missions and is part of the largest humanitarian network in the world: the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, present in 186 countries. It interacts with various governmental and private institutions, and in some cases runs its own communications systems to be able to cope with emergency situations together with them.

Hytera DMR RD98X repeaters were selected because of their coverage, IP interconnection and continuous cycle and power capacity fully compliant to DMR digital standard. The organisation migrated its analog VHF network to a digital one in stages as it was established in seven departments of Colombia, supporting events and emergency situations that occur at each site.

The PD78XG-V1 portable terminals and MD78XG-V1 mobile terminals were selected for different teams to realise simultaneous and point-to-point communication with a high level of protection, location information of the terminal to be delivered on the screen and larger coverage for longer communication distance between each other.

The Summit of the Americas was a suitable location to test the network and identify its strengths and weaknesses. Hytera digital radios were configured and used 24 hours a day for the 7-day event to ensure total coverage and no lapse in communication with Bogota via IP interconnection that allowed two different networks to be connected for follow-up and monitoring of the work.

“The support and availability given by Asecones, Hytera dealer in Latin America, for Hytera products allowed five specialists of the Colombian Red Cross to be able to set up and program the network used by the institution for this event. In addition to this, we can say that we use a product useful with good technology, robust for continuous, heavy work, and moreover, that does not show any failure taking into account the demands of working 24 hours, with temperatures between 16 and 32°C. It is also noted that the team is very friendly to the user, which facilitates easy handling and manipulation. We believe that Hytera teams and radios add quality to our humanitarian action,” said Salinas Buitrago Marinson, deputy director for operations, National Relief Department of Colombian Red Cross.