P25 network in South Island

TeamTalk has rolled out secure top-end IP-based technology, 'P25', in Christchurch.

P25 provides direct benefits for a range of central and local government agencies to communicate privately on a day-to-day basis with an added bonus.

When an emergency arises that needs coordination across various organisations, P25 ensures calls and data are encrypted and can’t be overheard by anyone not involved in the emergency response.

This is seen as being valuable to agencies such as ambulance, fire service, police, the ministry of fisheries, justice and other government agencies, as well as private organisations, like high-end security companies, energy retailers and port companies.

The company initially installed P25 in Wellington a year ago and the network will be expanded throughout the country in the future.

Developed by the US Public Safety organisation, APCO, P25 was designed to overcome: interoperability — agencies that have difficulty talking to each other; privacy — calls and information need to be extremely secure; coverage — they require reliable communications over large rural areas as well as in cities.

The technology is TIA standard–based and supports handsets from a variety of manufacturers including Tait and Motorola.