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VoIP TETRA port pooling solution shortlisted for TETRA Innovation award
APD Communications’ solution aims to provide cost savings and enhance flexibility of TETRA systems.
The 2012 International TETRA Awards (organised by TETRA Today) showcase the most talented individuals, innovative solutions and outstanding companies currently shaping the TETRA industry.
APD’s VoIP TETRA Port Pooling solution is one of seven contenders for the Best Innovation prize, with the winners being announced at a presentation dinner on the 16th March at the Savoy Hotel, London.
APD’s VoIP TETRA Port Pooling allows emergency service control rooms to generate efficiency savings by reducing their existing TETRA port usage, while increasing flexibility, maintaining resilience and preserving operational capability.
TETRA ports can attract significant upfront and recurring charges, although only a relatively small number of operators actually need concurrent TETRA access. By pooling port resources, APD’s solution enables free-seating across an organisation or collaborating organisations. This means operators can take calls and dispatch from any location, for example from a control room, at the scene of the incident or at home via the Internet. Sharing ports in this way allows staff to be deployed dynamically to suit an organisation’s needs, reduces the total number of ports required and promotes efficient working whilst reducing costs.
The solution is now in daily operational use at eight UK police forces, with further interest being shown as budgets are compressed. The resulting savings and enhanced flexibility have already been proven at Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service and Wiltshire Police. Wiltshire FRS now makes use of surplus TETRA ports not being used by Wiltshire Police via APD’s inter-customer pooling and virtual reallocation of TETRA ports. With the reduction in the number of TETRA ports, Wiltshire Police is saving in excess of £100k per year, also benefitting from inter agency collaboration and enhanced incident management.
Commenting on the short-listing Jonathan Hamill, Sales & Marketing Director at APD Communications said: “I’m delighted that APD’s VoIP TETRA Port Pooling solution has been shortlisted for the Best TETRA Innovation award. APD has a pedigree for innovation and for our organisation to be recognised for its ingenuity and ability to push the boundaries of current thinking is a great honour.”
“In addition to the cost saving and collaboration benefits we have seen at Wiltshire FRS and Wiltshire Police, the solution can also enable resilience and continuity of service in the event of a contingency such as a control room closure.”
“With public sector organisations facing further financial pressure, solutions that can help reduce overheads while also maintaining and even improving services will be of increasing importance and this solution is one example of what APD can do to help.”
About VoIP TETRA port pooling
APD’s second generation VoIP TETRA Port Pooling is built on industry standards (ASIO) and is device and technology independent.
The solution delivers true operator free-seating; organisations can deploy resources when and where they are required, knowing that their communications infrastructure will be able to match their demands.
VoIP TETRA Port Pooling provides a dynamic and efficient response to both planned and unplanned events and incidents. It enables effective response to unexpected situations by providing full TETRA functionality over any IP based bearer network - even 3G.
APD’s VoIP TETRA Port Pooling solution allows organisations to pool ports both internally and also with other organisations. This degree of flexibility becomes essential in the event that an organisation’s TETRA ports becoming unusable; effective and uninterrupted operation can continue using the shared ports, not only maintaining, but also increasing operational resilience and capability.
