Black spot services

New technology that will eliminate the communication black spots which trouble emergency service officers has been launched by Telstra.

No matter where the user is located, the Telstra Vehicle Access Network (VAN) maintains communications by using a combination of Telstra and private wireless network services. These services include radiocommunications, cellular voice and data (Next G), Wi-Fi and satellite.

Telstra convergent solutions managing director, Lynda O'Grady said the VAN ensured emergency services workers did not have to rely on a single communications technology to communicate and receive important information, particularly in remote areas prone to communication dropouts.

"Instead of solely relying on two-way radio, emergency workers will also be able to access critical data such as patient histories and injuries, incident locations and maps, which are displayed on a small computer screen in the vehicle," O'Grady said.

"Emergency services can also be safer with the knowledge the system can be extended outside the vehicle. For example, if an emergency worker found themselves in trouble whilst attending an incident, they could activate their panic button, which would send an emergency broadcast, including their GPS location, through the in-vehicle system to their base."