Motorola Solutions Australia lands $261 million to upgrade Melbourne emergency services radio network

Motorola Solutions Australia has secured a $261 million deal, its largest in the country, to upgrade Victoria's mission-critical radio network used by emergency services such as police, ambulances and the fire brigade.

The managed services contract extends Motorola's existing deal to manage the Metropolitan Mobile Radio network (MMR) by another seven years, with the option to extend by another five years.

The MMR network is used by Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade in the greater Melbourne metropolitan area for digitally encrypted voice communication for emergency services via push-to-talk voice transmission calls. The network started operating in 2005 and hosted 40 million push-to-talk voice calls last year.

As part of the upgrade, Motorola will provide enhanced data services and incremental safety features, including GPS and location services. The company said it would also provide customised online reporting, which will give agencies access to information about their radio network usage.

Motorola said it would trial its software-defined push-to-talk solution that will extend radio network access to more users via broadband. The company also said it would provide emergency services with a strategic interface for their Triple Zero emergency call and dispatch systems, which will enable them to access more data-based services over time.

“Emergency services depend on having ‘always on’, secure and reliable communications for their daily work,” Motorola Solutions vice president and managing director Steve Crutchfield said.

“For the past 13 years, the MMR network has provided essential communications for Victoria’s first responders when they have needed it most. This includes uninterrupted coverage during Victoria’s tragic Black Saturday bushfires in 2009 and reliable performance during many other major emergencies.”

In November last year, Motorola Solutions started rolling out a fleet of 10,000 iPhones and iPads for Victoria Police in a five-year deal valued at $50 million.