The Government Radio Network (GRN) is the umbrella term used to refer to various systems in place across Australia that enable state-wide trunked radio communication. The network operates through inter-linked sites for government and public services such as police, ambulance, fire, or roads authorities which require such a system to function properly. The main aim of the GRN is to consolidate all resources into one network, ensuring greater coverage and reliability than if each department had its own independent communication system. The existence of the GRN also reduces the amount of government money and resources needed to maintain communication between units of emergency and public service branches. Last, it allows effective intercommunication among these services in times of national or state emergency for coordination of wide-scale actions.
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The New South Wales Government Radio Network (commonly referred to as the NSW GRN) is a trunked radio system operating in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1993, the network was the first trunked government radio network in Australia and is currently one of the largest in the world.[1] The network covers approximately one-third of New South Wales and the majority of the Australian Capital Territory, equating a coverage area of approximately 226,000 square kilometres.[2] Currently, the network is owned by the Government of New South Wales through the Department of Services Technology and Administration. Its staff are employed by the Government Chief Information Office, and the network’s operations are managed under contract.[3]
The network is used by 5 of the 6 large NSW and ACT emergency services (the exception being the NSW Police Force[4]) along with 29 other agencies, departments, services, and non-government organisations, including:[5]
The network is also used by other government departments and discrete law enforcement agencies.
The network is a digital 9600 bps Project 25 (commonly referred to as P25 or APCO-25) Phase 1 trunked radio system operating in the UHF band between 403 MHz and 420 MHz in 12.5 kHz steps.[6] End user equipment is currently supplied by Motorola and consists almost exclusively of the XTL-5000 (mobile) and XTS-5000 (hand-held) two-way radios. Encryption is supported and used by some agencies on the network.
The Victorian StateNet Mobile Radio network is a MPT1327 trunked radio system owned by the Victorian Government and managed by Telstra Corporation.
It consists of 101 base sites which are interconnected with other GRN networks around Australia allowing virtual communication with users either within the same state or across the country. In addition to this, telephone calls are possible to landline or mobile phones, however they are expensive.
Frequency allocation for this network start at 163.0625 MHz to 165.6875Mhz (channel spacing of 12.5 kHz).
Users of this network include:
The system remained analogue based during a recent upgrade.
Scanning of MPT1327 networks is possible using freely available software and a compatible scanner.
The South Australian Government Radio Network is a trunked radio network usually using Motorola SmartZone. In essence this is a system of interconnected repeater sites, mobile (vehicle mounted), portable and static radio transceivers used within Australia for radio communications.
The system is employed in South Australian by Country Fire Service, Metropolitan Fire Service, Ambulance Service, State Emergency Service, Department Of Fisheries, Volunteer Marine Rescue, Department Of Transport, St John Ambulance. It is in use in several other government agencies, as well as some private companies.
The SAGRN provides both analogue and digital voice radio communications. The South Australian Police department (SAPOL) and South Australian Department of Fisheries use encrypted digital radios while all other users use unencrypted analogue radios. Frequencies are allocated dynamically to each TalkGroup (a group of authorised, connected radios) as required and are only activated in areas which contain radios belonging to that TalkGroup. The network also has Multi-Agency TalkGroups that allow the different services to be able to talk to each other during mass emergencies, major events or whenever is needed. These operate on analogue, without encryption. The SAGRN data network is also used by the South Australian Police for their in-vehicle mobile data terminals.
All radio communications frequencies are subject to licensing by the ACMA. Those licensed to the GRN are outside of the Citizen's band, and as such are relatively secure from casual interference, although they can be monitored by scanners (requiring a trunk or trunking scanner).
The current voice equipment is supplied by Motorola, and consists of the following: Base Radios: Motorola MCS 2000 Model 2 and 3, Motorola ASTRO XTL 2500. Portables: Motorola W7, Motorola W3, Motorola RCH 3000, Motorola MTS 2000 Model 3, Motorola XTS 3000 Model 3, and Motorola ATS 2500 Model 3.
The SAGRN has a telephone interconnect feature which makes it possible for phone calls to be made on SAGRN radios. Agencies other than SAPOL can only dial certain numbers pre-programmed into their radios. SAPOL have unlimited dialling and can dial any number they wish. This however, is an expensive feature as calls are charged by airtime and connection and the number of times the PTT (Push to Talk) button is pressed; a 6-minute call could cost around $55.
It is possible to disable a lost or stolen radio remotely through an 'inhibit' feature.[7] If the radio is on, the inhibit command will block the radio's use. Only Motorola, the vendor, can re-enable.
The SAGRN also has a state-wide paging network. Many supplied pagers are Samsung model SFA-170.
In 2010, Motorola entered into a contract with the South Australian Government to support the SAGRN.[8] Prior to this, Telstra was the primary on the SAGRN support contract, with Motorola assisting with Voice and Data network support.