Telstra LANES to the rescue
Telstra launches a national public safety mobile broadband capability for Emergency Services Organisations.
Telstra’s national public safety mobile broadband capability, Telstra LANES Emergency will be available for Emergency Services Organisations (ESOs) this summer.
Alex Stefan, Telstra’s National General Manager Public Safety and Security, said the LANES Emergency technology allows ESOs to interoperate and communicate with each other, and could provide government organisations with significant cost savings.
“Preserving the safety, security and prosperity of Australian communities is an essential role provided by our Emergency Services and Telstra is committed to providing innovative solutions and capabilities to support them. We’re excited LANES Emergency will soon be available to help ESOs manage the summer period and the extreme weather that often comes with it.”
A world leading innovation Telstra developed the LANES Emergency solution in collaboration with strategic partner Ericsson to provide ESOs with the opportunity to increase their network capability, coverage and reach, without building their own private network, by offering them priority access on Telstra’s LTE network.
Telstra LANES Emergency will be available in two forms for Emergency Services customers - Telstra LANES Emergency Priority which will provide access to Telstra’s LTE spectrum, and Telstra LANES Emergency Tailored which will consist of customer owned dedicated spectrum and access to Telstra’s LTE spectrum, or enhancements to Telstra's LTE network.
“Through LANES we can offer Emergency Services priority data access on our 4G network or on a dedicated and partitioned spectrum for their exclusive use. On the wireless highway it is like offering Emergency Services their very own express lane,” said Mr Stefan.
“The technology offers wireless broadband services so that critical information can be shared in real time. For example, it will provide police with access to real-time information that includes their identification process, which previously relied on a verbal descriptions via the radio network, as well as access mobile data-based services, letting them check photo ID or real time CCTV.
“By prioritising emergency data communications, Telstra LANES Emergency enables more efficient and accurate reporting from the frontline, as information from systems can be updated in the field and accessed almost immediately by the rest of the team or other ESOs.”
A recent report from the Australian Productivity Commission indicated that a commercial public safety solution like LANES has the potential to save ESOs $4 billion over 20 years over the cost of running their own systems, and provides them with access to more easily updated technology and innovations.
“Telstra will be initially providing access to up to 160 MHz of Telstra LTE spectrum, including our 700MHz band, for use by ESOs under this new offering,” Alex concluded.
Over the past three years, Telstra’s LANES technology has been successfully trialled by a number of ESOs during significant, high network usage events. In 2014, LANES was used during the G20 summit in in Brisbane, where the technology helped ensure police from Australia and New Zealand could effectively carry out their operations.
Links and other resources
Telstra LANES technology trial with The Queensland Police:
VIDEO