February 29, 2012
Motorola Solutions enters agreement to upgrade and extend management of Victorian Government emergency services radio network
Melbourne, Australia. – February 28, 2012 – Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI), has signed an agreement with the Victorian Government’s Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA), worth over AUD$130 million to upgrade and extend the management of Victoria’s Metropolitan Mobile Radio (MMR) network for another four years from July 2012, with an option to extend for a further two years from July 2016.
The MMR network, one of the first emergency communications networks to be procured under a build, own and operate public-private services model in Australia, was first initiated in 2004 and provides mission-critical, digitally encrypted radio voice communications for ESTA, the Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade across the greater Melbourne metropolitan region.
The new agreement will see Motorola Solutions enhance the network with the latest software and radio equipment upgrades, ensuring it remains at the forefront of technology innovation throughout and beyond the contract period.
The upgrades will allow the three agencies to continue to communicate seamlessly with one another, voice log emergency reports and enhance emergency response, supported by an expansion of Motorola Solutions’ service management on the ground.
Key Facts
· Motorola Solutions originally signed a seven-year contract with the Victorian Government in 2004 to design, build and manage the MMR network, helping the three agencies overcome communicating across their then incompatible systems while significantly enhancing coverage across the greater Melbourne metropolitan area.
· Since then, the network has consistently met and exceeded service levels, including stringent availability targets above 99.999 per cent in 2008/2009. This level of performance ensures an ‘always available’ service to emergency services agencies.
· For example, during the tragic Black Saturday events in Victoria in 2009, the MMR network performed incident-free despite fires and a series of 40°C-plus days. The total number of calls made and received over the network that same year was 16,585,854.
· The MMR network utilises P25 open standard radio communications technology, underpinned by Motorola Solutions’ highly resilient design to ensure required performance levels.
· The new agreement will see Motorola Solutions enhance the network with a software upgrade to core switching equipment, migration to a full IP architecture including all dispatch consoles, a new high-availability IP-based logging service to capture voice radio transmissions, and a refresh of all remote site equipment to the latest GTR series, equipped for P25 Phase 2 operation and capable of interoperating with all other Phase 2 enabled networks.
· Phase 2 Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) technology provides twice the voice capacity of Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) technology for more efficient use of spectrum, providing users improved system access.
· The new agreement also further extends and enhances existing service performance levels, including an expansion of Motorola Solutions’ managed services team, providing service levels to Ballarat’s State Emergency Communications Centre equivalent to those currently experienced in Melbourne.
Supporting quotes
Ken Shymanski, CEO, Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority, Victoria Government
“The MMR network has enabled Victorian emergency services organisations to be more responsive to emergencies in the greater Melbourne Metropolitan region. The new agreement will enhance the network with the latest in communications technology, allowing our emergency services personnel to focus on best protecting and serving our communities, while saving time and lives. The MMR network was one of the first build-own-operate private-public partnership undertaken by any state government in Australia from an emergency services perspective, and the extension of this contract is further validation of its success as a best-practice model.”
Gary Starr, Managing Director, Motorola Solutions Australia and New Zealand
“This agreement further demonstrates our committment to equipping Australian emergency services agencies and personnel with the latest public safety technology solutions, significantly improving their ability to communicate with each other during an incident or disaster. The new network draws on our strong services heritage, and expands existing service provision levels, guaranteeing that emergency services agencies will continue to receive the same high and stringent levels of service and network availability, while ensuring enhanced capability in the field - ultimately helping protect and save lives across the state.”