Wide Area Coverage Achieved for Council thanks to PTTOC

Councils throughout the UK require an efficient and reliable communication solution for staff to maintain instant contact. Often staff can be working across different locations, so coverage can be challenging.

SFL have worked closely with councils to provide the best communication solution available. One customer had previously used traditional two way radios (RF) on a wide area network. The issue they had was that it lacked functionality and didn’t have the flexibility required, with several blackspots throughout their council boundary.

Increasing Communication Capabilities

The council were looking to increase their communication capabilities (be able to add, remove and reconfigure users). Upgrading the current wide area network wasn’t a cost efficient solution, they also wanted to explore new technology options.

Users of radio systems in this council were the community patrol and enforcement officers. Often working alone, they required specific features to protect their wellbeing. This included an emergency button, man down, lone working and GPS tracking. Along with a despatcher for control room staff and the ability to record coverage when necessary.

Because it was wide area coverage they required, the SFL team discussed a PTTOC/PoC (Push to Talk Over Cellular) Solution.

Where traditional radios operate using RF, PTTOC radios, otherwise known as 4G radios operate using LTE (3G,4G,5G) or Wi-Fi. Meaning wherever there is mobile signal or Wi-Fi, users will be able to connect seamlessly, so they are great for wide areas, and crucially they work on the same principal of PTT, with communication to all at once, or you can do individual calls if you wish.

Trialling PTTOC Radios

Having all the features required and coming in on their budget. We quickly moved to proof of concept and set up a trial of 6 Telo T8 devices which are a body camera and radio in one device.

Operating with a multi network roaming SIM, the Telo T8 will automatically switch to the strongest network in the area, providing the best connection possible.

Features Supplied

• GPS positioning
• Live Video streaming
• Lone worker / Man Down / Emergency Button
• Guard tour with NFC on device
• Remote Reprogramming
• Remote stunning of devices
• Device management software offering GDPR compliant data from cameras

Results from the proof of concept were outstanding: coverage was great giving them a strong signal across their council boundary. The despatcher was easy to use and the functionality, in particular location tracking and the emergency button were above expectation.

The Solution

From this, the council decided on a 3 year contract of the Telo T8 devices, using their own SIM cards.

This is offered in the form of a managed service, we can add, remove or reconfigure users remotely within minutes. Live streaming of the devices to the control room has also been set up. Staff can simply right click on the device to live stream from the despatcher. The device users can press the emergency button when in the field to activate the live stream. Providing support for them if they were ever in a position of confrontation or danger.

More council users are seeing the benefits of the solutions, with their fleet continuously being added to throughout the departments.

Considering a PTTOC communication solution and would like to find out what will work best for your team? Get in touch with us on 0151 334 9160 to discuss your requirements.