Upgrade for St John network

ST John Ambulance Western Australia will upgrade its entire radio network to incorporate new digital technology for almost 800 ambulance staff across the Perth metropolitan area.

Tait Radio Communications, which has an office in WA, won the contract to upgrade the entire St John fleet, with the upgrade expected to take four months.

Tait WA regional sales manager, Glynn Sherris, said the new digital radio system would deliver voice clarity and enable more efficient use of maintenance resources for looking after the network, reducing the total cost of ownership for St John.

St John technical services director, Ashley Morris, said the new system would provide more effective radio coverage and the encrypted signal would ensure that private patient information could be securely communicated between paramedics and hospitals.

Meanwhile, communications firm SatStream this week launched Wave 4.8 in Fremantle, a solution for integrating disparate radio systems and other communications technologies and applications into a single and manageable standards-based communications solution.

The technology allows personnel from agencies such as police, ambulance, fire or sea rescue to communicate with one another concurrently.

SatStream is the Australian agent distributing the technology, which was developed by Seattle-based Twisted Pair Solutions.