12 March 2024
The UK government-owned National Highways organisation, which operates, maintains, and improves motorways and major A roads in England, has begun to search for a new supplier to manage the roadside National Roads Telecommunications Services (NRTS) network, an approximate £650 million contract.
The NRTS project currently provides services to over 30,000 end devices on over 3,500km of the strategic road network.
Find out more07 March 2024
Sepura has launched the SCL3, a rugged broadband hand-portable device.
The new SCL3 device has the flexibility to be deployed as LTE only or as hybrid TETRA and 4G/5G, providing a powerful device to enable the migration to mission-critical broadband communication. Supporting the best of both worlds, the SCL3 is the link to future MCX communications utilising its optional TETRA module to provide a migration path from existing TETRA communications to MCX services.
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07 March 2024
Duncan Swan, chief operating officer, British APCO
British APCO is a founding member of the Collaborative Coalition for International Public Safety (CC:IPS). The partnership is currently looking at where critical communication networks are designated as critical national infrastructure.
The world is marching ever quicker towards an all-digital infrastructure – and this brings with it challenges that break the norm. The solutions and underlying business processes delivering business continuity and disaster recovery no longer hold water, and different approaches must be considered. Simple challenges include the migration from copper landlines to voice over IP for all UK telephone connections, which was paused once it became apparent that during bad weather conditions, when power was lost, many customers had no way of making an emergency 999/112 call; and users of health alarms are unable to call for help. The onus on protecting the vulnerable has switched to ensure all utility providers take this responsibility. Next generation communications help drive improved processes and opens new communication channels – but when we take these steps, we need to ensure that we are not alienating those in society who are unable to embrace this level of change.
Find out more04 March 2024
ICS.AI and Derby City Council have announced an expansion of their partnership through a £7 million AI project aimed at transforming public service delivery. This four-year initiative marks a significant advancement in applying generative AI technologies to enhance customer service operations across the council’s various departments.
The deal will see an expansion of AI capabilities into critical areas such as Adult Social Care, Customer Services, and Debt Recovery, which were selected through comprehensive workshops that identified 54 distinct use cases for AI integration. Following this phase, Derby City Council plans to roll out further phases of AI adoption across other service areas.
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