An effective PSMB network needs cross-domain experience

In her role as Chief Commercial Officer, Elyssa Rollinson is responsible for supporting strategy development and execution and for engagement across the broadcast, telecommunications and government sectors for BAI Communications, which operates and monitors the New South Wales Public Safety Network (PSN) and is delivering critical systems and passenger connectivity for the Sydney Metro West project. With plans for a national public safety mobile broadband (PSMB) network a live topic of discussion, Critical Comms recently spoke with Elyssa about the cross-domain experience that will make it work.

Can you tell me a little of the history of BAI Communications?

For nearly 30 years BAI has operated a national broadcast network, providing TV and radio services to over 99% of the population. We deliver a ‘network as a service’ for the broadcasters, where we design, build, own and operate all of the infrastructure required to take content from those broadcasters and connect communities with that content through a portfolio of around 750 sites that we either own or manage around the country to an always-on level of service.

The second thing that we do is that we operate and maintain the NSW PSN on behalf of the Telco Authority to a mission-critical SLA standard, and ensure that the network’s always on and always operating. That network has grown to more than 600 sites and counting, and we have been a trusted partner to them now for about 13 years.

We also provide private and public networks for other industry sectors, predominantly in mining, rail and energy where those networks are considered mission-critical to those businesses.

Australia has talked about implementing a national public safety mobile broadband network for some years without landing on a model. What’s actually been missing?

In terms of deploying PSMBs, different countries are addressing it quite differently. The largest problem in Australia is the vast geographical reach that our emergency service operators require, which means that we need to balance the aim of covering the entire country with broadband with the realities of the cost of doing so.

Building a PSMB is complex on a couple of levels. The connectivity challenge is there, but there is also our national fabric of states and territories that are independently responsible for emergency management, with each state and territory approaching their communications networks for their police, fire, ambulance and other service organisations slightly differently.

In NSW, the Telco Authority is a single point of accountability for those communications networks and has been down a path of aggregating a common radio communications platform for the emergency service organisations. Some other states and territories have taken a different approach where they rely on separate networks that serve individual agencies.

In my view, our North Star is to think about how to best support frontline emergency responders, particularly when natural disasters occur, which clearly don’t respect borders.

Image courtesy of NSW Ambulance.

A review in 2022 found the preferred solution would be to use a dedicated PSMB core connected to all three mobile networks. How do you see your company’s role in that?

It would be uneconomical for this country to build a standalone emergency service radio access network throughout the entirety of the nation, so it makes sense for a PSMB network to utilise existing mobile network operator (MNO) networks and supplement with a PSMB core.

The standalone core needs to provide a point of interconnect to the MNO networks, emergency service organisation (ESO) user management (including profiles), and overall visibility of user devices. This gives real-time insight into the coverage and quality ESOs are actually experiencing, measured against what’s expected. Managing these ESO users, analysing expected versus experienced network performance, and building a dynamic view of potential interruptions — one that can be communicated clearly to ESOs along with the expected impact — is where we see a role for an independent service provider. A service partner who is independent of the various network components needs to sit hand in hand with government across all of those networks.

This is where we see ourselves because we’re independent of the MNOs, and because we are already trusted by governments to deliver mission-critical safety communications networks. It’s a natural extension of what we do already.

What do you think it would take to scale the NSW example of a single shared network to a single national broadband network?

It is a big job, and the complexities associated with a PSMB can’t be overstated. The first complexity is the network architecture. That’s a matter for the MNOs and for government, through the National Emergency Management Agency, and working with state and territory counterparts, to determine the best architecture.

The second complexity is the commercial arrangements that need to be put in place between the public MNO networks and state and federal governments for access and roaming throughout those networks. And then there are operational challenges, and it’s those that I think BAI Communications can help address.

Another key challenge, of course, is spectrum. And this is where I think there’s an opportunity to look at the way that we’re using spectrum as a national resource and how much of that spectrum is being allocated to national public safety outcomes.

Image credit: iStock.com/Rneaw

So you see BAI Communications as a neutral operator that works between the ESOs and the MNOs?

Yes, we do that today in broadcast and public safety, and we’re also an independent operator of telecommunications networks in other areas such as in-building systems. We provide coverage in hard-to-reach spaces, like buildings and tunnels, that all the telcos can share and we do that as an independent network operator.

Being independent of the existing players in the market can be a real advantage because it is in many cases easier for them to work with an independent neutral operator who does this as their core business than with competitors dealing directly with each other.

How will experience with projects like Sydney Metro West help in your endeavours with a PSMB?

If you think about what you need in a metro underground rail tunnel, you have three separate connectivity needs: you need the public cellular systems that give your commuters connectivity; you need a public safety system; and then you need a third layer, which is your private 5G network that’s going to be the communications platform that underpins your rail operations.

The optimal approach is to design and implement all three elements as a single coordinated project. It’s more cost-effective and gives better design outcomes, but also gives better whole-of-life outcomes for how you maintain and keep those networks performing.

The public mobile networks in Australia tend to be pretty good at serving outdoor coverage, but not so great at penetrating indoor environments. I anticipate there’s going to be a need to ensure that our ESOs have adequate coverage and capability for communications in those environments as well. And that’s something we’re really good at doing.

Top image: Elyssa Rollinson, CCO at BAI Communications.