$600 million to fix Qld police radio system
- 12 May, 2011 12:32
- Comments 2
Upgrading Queensland's police radio system to digital technology would cost around $600 million, the floods inquiry has heard.
Several police officers have complained to the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry they were heavily reliant on their personal mobile phones during January's crisis, because their radios didn't work.
Police Chief Superintendent Grant Pitman on Thursday told the inquiry it could be five to 10 years before all of the state's police moved to superior digital technology.
A draft report into police and the Department of Communities making the switch advised it would cost around $600 million.
Supt Pitman said Brisbane only had digital radio because security had to be beefed up ahead of the 2001 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
The landscape also meant it didn't suffer blackspots like other parts of the state.
"It's a different environment, and the purchase of digital radio at that period of time was the result of the CHOGM being here in Brisbane, and the extra security," he said.
"You can travel anywhere in the state and the system will convert to whichever network is most appropriate at that time."
The inquiry on Thursday will continue looking into the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, and in particular, its swift water rescue capabilities.
It is also expected to hear from Grantham widower Danny McGuire, who claims the rural fire service tried to gag him after his wife, Llync, eldest son, Garry, 12, and daughter Jocelyn, five, drowned in a fire truck during the January 10 floods.
Mr McGuire claims he and his surviving son, Zac, 7, were "locked down" in a Toowoomba motel, to prevent them speaking out about efforts to have Grantham evacuated before the deadly flood.
He last week claimed he could face charges over the deaths, which senior police denied.
The use of specifically reserved spectrum for use by emergency services has been of increasing priority, with the communications regulatory flagging negotiations to calm differing opinions between telcos and services organisations. Communications minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, confirmed this week that portions of the 800MHz spectrum band may be set aside for these uses.
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Comments
Radiotech
Digital radio (P25, dMR etc) isn't necessarily any better than analogue for coverage and anyone who says otherwise has vested interests in selling new radios under mega $ contracts.
If you have black spots (poor radio coverage) in analogue, you will have the same problems with digital radio. In fact digital radio in difficult, rural terrain is actually more unreliable and fickle than analogue radios. Qld Police would do well to delay the introduction of 'digital' radio outside of the Metropolitan area for as long as possible. There are several digital 'standards' out there at the moment, all competing for Government and private sector business and most are incompatible with each other. The current flavour of the month, P25 Phase 1 is already obsolete. P25 phase 2 with improved audio quality is already rolling off the production line (there is even some question in the industry over whether P25 phase 2 will even be backwards compatible with P25 phase 1!) and competing technologies such as Tetra and dMR will also become major players in the Australian market over the next few years, after the ACMA opened up the 400Mhz band for these systems recently. The Qld government would also do well to look south of the border and see what happens when you enter into what is essentially a 'sole sourced' arrangement with one major industry player.
paul.tech
A blackspot with digital radio can be addressed more easily as some more modern radios use IP protocols to allow riuting thru another radio to get gaet back to base. And as it"s IP, it is dynamic, so any radio in range on the same network will do.
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