Motorola Solutions Secures Contract To Enhance Emergency Radio Network In Victoria

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 (Bernama) -- Motorola Solutions has been granted a 10-year contract valued at AUD$500 million (approximately US$330 million) from the Victorian government to maintain and enhance the Metropolitan Mobile Radio network (MMR) relied upon by the state’s emergency services. (US$1=RM4.42)

The contract with the Department of Justice and Community Safety will extend MMR’s operation until 2035, providing secure and trusted radio communications for the state’s public safety agencies, including Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, and Fire Rescue Victoria.

Motorola Solutions Australia and New Zealand managing director, Con Balaskas emphasised the importance of resilient and reliable communications for first responders, enabling multi-agency collaboration in difficult conditions.

“Now, through new software and broadband innovations, MMR’s interoperable communication will extend to the farthest reaches of our state, from Mildura to Mallacoota, while enabling more agencies to connect to the network,” he said in a statement.

Motorola Solutions’ Melbourne-based operations control centre and field engineering teams will provide round-the-clock support and service, helping to keep MMR and a fleet of more than 32,000 radios used on the network optimised and performing at the highest levels of the P25 radio standard.

Under the contract, Marine Search & Rescue will join MMR in 2025. Additionally, SmartConnect, a cloud-based service, will expand coverage for users by automatically switching between land mobile radio (LMR) and broadband, Wi-Fi and satellite networks when users travel outside of radio coverage areas.

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Ambulance Victoria’s regional units will also gain statewide coverage and access to productivity-enhancing data applications via 1,600 new APX NEXT all-band smart radios, with an additional 750 APX series multi-band mobile radios to be installed in regional ambulances.

Since its implementation in 2005, MMR has helped Victoria’s public safety agencies respond to major crises, including the 2023 flood crisis and 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, with over 50.5 million push-to-talk voice calls made on MMR in the past 12 months alone.

Motorola Solutions supports 13,000 LMR networks in more than 100 countries worldwide, with governments including, Norway, Portugal, Denmark and Austria also joining the Victorian government in renewing their significant investments in LMR communications.

-- BERNAMA