Friday fragments - comms news from around the web for 21 February 2014

A round-up of the week's critical communications and public safety radio news for Friday, 21 February 2014.

Emergency Services Levy should be increased. South Australia's Country Fire Service, the volunteers' association, says the state's Government Radio Network needs to be upgraded to limit black spots and boost network capacity. A report produced by the CFS, says: "Situations have already occurred when appliances were unable to access the network due to high usage and the CFSVA has concerns that the potential for a serious problem exists should a major fire of the magnitude of Ash Wednesday recur." The CFS wants $24 million spent to reduce black spots and $154 million for a digital radio network.

Canada's 700 MHz auction. The Canadian government has raised C$5.27 billion in an auction of 700 MHz spectrum, with 97 licences awarded to eight Canadian companies. "Canadians will soon benefit from a fourth wireless player in every region of the country having access to this high-quality spectrum to provide all Canadians with dependable, high-speed wireless services on the latest technologies," said Industry Minister John Moore on Wednesday.

Airwave opens Scotland HQ. Airwave UK has opened a new headquarters in Glasgow, which follows increased investment in the region over recent years, including the 2011 acquisition of Kelvin Connect, an off-shoot of the University of Glasgow. The UK Airwave Network covers 99% of Great Britain's land area.

Vehicle-to-vehicle comms are coming. The US government has allocated several million dollars for research into technology that will allow road vehicles to 'talk' to their drivers and to each other. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is pursing this technology in light vehicles to improve road safety and help alleviate congestion.

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