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1994-04-14
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To : All Emergency Management Agencies
From : Wireless Institute Civil Emergency Network
Australia
Information for inclusion in this fortnightly Bulletin
should be sent by one of the following methods :-
Postal : WICEN, P.O. Box 106, Mitcham, Victoria, 3132
InterNet: vk3tp@csource.oz.au
FidoNet : Paul Walton @ 3:632/404
Packet : vk3ur@vk3bbs.vic.aus.oc
Voice : Paul Walton (03) 754-8646 (A.H)
WICEN.047 REPORT ON COMMUNICATIONS 3/4/94
DURING THE NSW FIRES
The following article is based on exerts from an article by Bernard Levy
which appeared in the Australian Communications magazine of March 1994.
The bushfires that ravaged NSW in early 1994 have exposed some
potentially serious gaps in communications links among the various emergency
service agencies. Solutions do exist in theory but it may be some time before
they prevail nationally.
The problem wasn't one of available radio bandwidth but rather lack
of compatibility. This led to a situation where the various agencies were
forced to communicate via a haphazard,makeshift network patched together to
meet the crisis on a moment to moment basis. Added to this was the lack of
compatibility with the interstate teams that poured in to assist. This led to
a delay in entering the interstate volunteers into the battle.
The NSW Fire Brigade has a sophisticated network with 12 VHF channels
but the Bush Fire Service employs a combination of VHF, UHF trunked mobile
radio to CB radio. Add to this the other services involved and you have a
confusing situation in providing communication interconnection.
At the height of the blaze Telecom threw as much goodwill,time, human
resources and mobile handsets and base stations as it could spare into the
fray although their mobile network suffered some congestion as a result of
this. Their two Network Management Centres in Sydney and Melbourne could
monitor the fires progress by the traffic loads in and out of the affected
areas.
The Spectrum Management Agency were forced to provide fast service for
granting requests to clear the use of frequencies. SMA data on the emergency
frequencies in use across the nation highlight how complex and confusing
interconnection can be.
Parochialism and empire building are believed by some to be largely
to blame for the present situation and the only solution may be for
Federal Government to consider a national strategy.
The Future: Within a year or more the State should have its NSW
Government Radio Network (GRN), a new integrated , digitally capable trunked
mobile radio system designed to link all the government departments.
Implementation is due to start this month beginning with the Sydney ,
Wollongong and Newcastle areas with some country corridors by the end of the
year.
Six years in the development this system has had input from a variety of
government interested agencies. The GRN will replace 30 existing networks
requiring 200 base stations down to a single network with 40 base stations.
The only immediate problem is that it will take a number of years before
this system is capable of covering the entire state.
The Bush Fire Service in the mean time is trying to rationalise
its present network into a single band and provide standardised
communications equipment and procedures.