Robust radio & telecommunications

Marine Rescue NSW has continued to make boating safer with a stronger marine radio network and new communications systems.

Boating safety on the NSW coastline has been boosted with the completion of important projects to extend the VHF marine radio network and eliminate major blackspots in radio coverage on the South Coast, at a cost of more than half a million dollars. New network infrastructure was this year installed on Dr George Mountain near Bega, Bermagui, Moruya, Round Hill south of Batemans Bay and on the Illawarra coastline at Vincentia, Mount Pleasant and Maddens Plains. The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia SOLAS Trusts generously contributed a $70,000 grant towards the works. Along with continuing work to complete a new installation at Coolongolook, inland from Forster-Tuncurry, these projects targeted the remaining large blackspots in coastal marine radio reception, providing consistent coverage from Point Danger to Eden and 20 to 30 nautical miles out to sea.

NETWORK RESILIENCE The bushfire emergency on the South Coast impacted heavily on critical marine radio communications infrastructure and coverage. Pre-season planning centred around the need to maintain services in the eventuality that key assets in the network were lost, with a range of measures identified to work around any failures. Widespread power and telecommunications outages across the region at the height of the fires around New Year’s Eve disrupted phone services and radio communications relayed via the internet as part of the MRNSW communications backbone.

Just two months after its installation in October, the new equipment on Round Hill sustained significant damage when the Clyde Mountain fire swept across the site on New Year’s Eve. Communications were maintained through other locations and technicians from Karera Communications were given an emergency escort to cross fallen power lines to reach the site to carry out essential repairs. The site was operational again within days.

Critical infrastructure in Mt Imlay National Park, south of Eden, was damaged beyond repair. Interim remedial work to install temporary VHF radios was completed in early March, at a cost of $44,000, ensuring core services could be maintained, with the permanent rebuild of the infrastructure expected to take a further three months.

This strategic planning and concerted response ensured that radio services were maintained along the coastline throughout the fire emergency, with only minor disruptions to the south of Eden for two days in January, proving the resilience of the network and the benefits of our investment in infrastructure and systems improvements and commitment to preventative maintenance.

NEW COMMUNICATIONS SURETY MRNSW has signed a major new communications agreement for the development of a robust and stable Telstra platform to provide the service with essential telecommunications surety. Commissioner Stacey Tannos and Chief Financial Officer Todd Andrews signed the agreement on June 30, 2020 with the Managing Director and Sales Director of Telstra Platinum

Director of Operations Andrew Cribb (second from left) with representatives of Telstra and Exigo Tech on board Middle Harbour 30 on Sydney Harbour.

Partner Exigo Tech Pty Ltd, Vivek Trivedi and Niten Davalia, who will manage the project with MobileCorp. The vital work of our volunteers was highlighted to representatives of Telstra and Exigo Tech when they joined a crew from MR Middle Harbour on Sydney Harbour to learn more about their roles and reliance on stable communications systems.

The new agreement will see the development of a communications platform to support all the service’s needs, including phones, internet data and even satellite links for the first offshore MRNSW unit on Lord Howe Island. A suite of standard new telephone hardware and connection devices will be rolled out to every MRNSW unit.

Importantly, all units will be provided with NBN and Telstra LANES 4G priority access to the network in peak traffic periods and 24/7 priority support for the repair and management of outages.

VHF: THE CHOICE FOR SAFER BOATING As well as investing heavily in upgrading infrastructure to eliminate blackspots in VHF radio reception along the coastline, MRNSW continued to work with communications authorities and government agencies on safety advances, advocating for VHF to be recognised as the safest marine communications technology. VHF offers greater range and clearer reception and maximises the chance that a boater calling for help will receive help fast.

We also engaged with the boating community to encourage boaters to make every journey safer by switching to VHF. A dedicated social media campaign was launched in March, running until the end of the boating season, to highlight the benefits of VHF to boaters and encourage them to ‘Help us help you’ by choosing the safer technology. With the support of our suppliers Raymarine and Barrenjoey Marine Electrics, 36 free VHF radios, worth more than $20,000, were given away. The campaign reached 79,000 people through the MRNSW Facebook page and the giveaway attracted more than 3,000 entries. Of the 36 winners, 16 had no radio on their boat at all, another 12 had a 27MHz set and eight had an older VHF radio. Eleven of the winners were women.