A new world leading digital service delivered by Next Generation Critical Communications (NGCC) adds another tool for emergency services to help strengthen national emergency operational responses during major disasters.
The new PSN (Public Safety Network) Cellular Network Visibility Service was launched by Minister Mark Mitchell in Wellington today.
The service brings together data from New Zealand’s two biggest mobile network providers, Spark and One NZ, onto one digital platform enabling emergency services to quickly see whether mobile network outages will impact their ability to stay connected while using their devices in near real time and two weeks into the future.
It will strengthen communication resilience and boost situational awareness for emergency services, particularly in critical incidents where they rely on fast, reliable datato do their jobs and stay safe.
The PSN Cellular Network Visibility Service was developed by Hourua, the joint venture between Spark and One NZ, for Next Generation Critical Communications (NGCC) and is part of the new Public Safety Network’s Cellular Services.
NGCC Director Steve Ferguson said it was a major achievement for the two telcos to produce a service like this and it’s believed to be a world first.
“We congratulate Spark and One NZ and thank them for their work to deliver this third Cellular Service on time and on budget in the interests of public safety,” he said.
In addition to significantly enhancing operational planning capabilities, emergency services will be able to identify optimal locations for deploying portable cellular sites, being delivered by NGCC next year, to ensure they have the coverage needed during critical operations.
Once a PSN Cellular Rapid Deployable is operational, its coverage area will be dynamically populated on the PSN Cellular Network Visibility Service.
For more information about the service watch our video PSN Network Visibility Service