Here comes the Sheriff, and he’s well protected thanks to NEC communications deal

Staff Writers
Thursday, 26 February 2009 11:35

IT Industry - Market

In a deal which will reportedly give greater protection to members of Victoria’s Sheriff’s Office if they are under threat, NEC Australia has won a $1.6 million contract to provide a new communications platform for the Sheriff’s Office entire fleet of vehicles.
 

NEC says the solution is designed to enable the Sheriff’s Office mobile workforce to remain in constant contact with the Sheriff’s Communications Centre, allowing more efficient job dispatch and improved response to officers in emergency situations.
 
Gabrielle Levine, director enforcement operations in the Sheriff’s Office says the new technology will give officers state of the art technology and increased peace of mind in emergency situations.

“When officers are in the field there can be the potential for a threat to develop. Now, if this happens, an officer can activate their duress alarm and know that our communications centre will be able to respond.

“NEC’s solution will boost our occupational health and safety (OH&S) capabilities by providing an automatic vehicle locating device and emergency alarm management across multiple networks. In short, we are now deploying an advanced communications system which allows us to maintain constant communications with our workforce,” Levine added.

NEC’s Ashley Halford said the platform to be used, the VAN, or Vehicle Access Network, was jointly developed by NEC and Telstra and was based on NEC’s Mobile Access Controller solution.

Halford said a critical pillar of the VAN was the cooperation between NEC and Telstra to develop the radio communications switching technology and network interfaces that enabled the system to switch between Telstra’s radio & cellular networks.
 
“The VAN is an in-vehicle voice and data solution that integrates multiple networks and solutions into a simplified user environment. The solution is designed to allow seamless roaming across diverse public and private networks without user intervention, with the aim of increasing coverage and availability without the high cost of network expansion. Dynamic network selection is gained through a single user interface which is designed to provide effective communication both in vehicle and while using handheld portable radios.”

Halford maintained that the deal was significant because for the first time, organisations with fleet vehicles would be equipped with a single integrated communications platform to provide the full spectrum of voice and data services.

“Due to its modular architecture, VAN results in a lower total cost of ownership because new services and applications can be delivered incrementally, without requiring a complete system overhaul.”