Speakers & Topics - 2009 Conference

• Christopher Hose - Manager, Government Planning Section, Spectrum Planning Branch - ACMA
  Spectrum management and the 400 MHz band

  Following the release of the Spectrum Proposals discussion paper earlier this year, the ACMA has been analysing responses to the paper and preparing a summary of responses for stakeholders. The ACMA is working towards a final discussion paper which will detail new arrangements including transition plans and time lines for transition.

• Peter Hilly - Managing Director - Spectrum Engineering Australia
  The spectrum requirements and future spectrum management arrangements for mobile radio communications in Australia

• Ian Miller - General Manager - AA Radio Services / ARCIA
  The spectrum requirements and future spectrum management arrangements for mobile radio communications in Australia

• Michael Stewart - Teacher, Electrotechnology - RMIT
  2015 and beyond - Are you ready to converge? Vocational upskilling to meet new technology demands in the radio communications industry

  The radio communications environment in the next 5-10 years will consist of many mobile devices operating across a wide range of applications. Most radio developments assume a static operating environment. However, this new RF environment consisting of many mobile devices will be very dynamic. Radios will need the capacity to sense and adapt to changing environmental conditions. That characteristic is generally associated with new and emerging technologies such as cognitive radio (CR) and opportunist radio (OR).

  This presentation will propose training opportunities which underpin these technologies to upskill the current radio communications workforce to become proficient in the operation and design of future systems.

• Graham Elliot - Sales Manager Wireless and General T&M, Defence Business Manager - Vicom
  Understanding APCO Project 25 and Digital Testing Strategies. Test and Measure

  APCO Project 25 is rapidly becoming the digital standard for land mobile radio in Australia. Vicom, through its partnership with Aeroflex, is uniquely positioned to provide test solutions, and training and support, for those companies moving into this exciting new area.

  This presentation discusses the merits of the currently available digital standards and the status of new developments, including APCO Project 25 Phase II.

• Dr Y Jay Guo - Director, Wireless Technologies Laboratory, Theme Leader, Broadband Wireless - CSIRO ICT Centre
  Multiple antennas for robust and high data rate wireless communications

  Multiple antennas are essential for current and future wireless communications systems. Multiple antennas include two technologies, namely, beamforming and multiple input and multiple output (MIMO). For point-to-point links, the former is primarily for increasing the communications range and the latter is mainly for increasing the system spectral efficiency. For wireless communications networks, beamforming and MIMO can be employed in an adaptive manner to meet the system requirements including robustness, capacity and range.

  In this talk, CSIRO research on multiple antennas will be presented and the relevance to the wireless communications industry will be discussed. In particular, research activities on antenna systems in the context of the National Broadband Network (NBN) will be described.

• Aleksandra Preskar - Senior Communications Engineer - Gibson Quai - AAS Pty Ltd
  Project management of base station deployment

  Base stations are a basic building block of every radio network, including cellular, push-to-talk, WiMAX etc. The final installation is preceded by a number of steps which need to be carefully managed and coordinated amongst a number of parties involved. The presentation aims to walk the audience through the process through a small case study, highlighting the importance of desktop design, site/location selection, planning and regulatory issues, community protection and others.

  It will touch on emission standards, visual impact, and an alternative approach to design in sensitive areas, antenna minimisation and co-location agreements with other carriers.

  It will encompass project management as applied to network design and will reflect on wider project management issues encountered in network operation.

• Graham Tait - Station Officer, Deputy Manager, Operational Communications - NSWFB
  Interoperability as it applies to the NSW Fire Brigades, in particular our interaction with other emergency agencies both within NSW and in other jurisdictions

  Case study will revolve around the February 2009 Victorian bushfires and the NSW Fire Brigades' experience with interoperability at that incident, as well as some of the systems and methodologies involved with interoperability in radio communications.

• Bill Rebozo - Director Global Business Development - Twisted Pair Solutions
  Extending radio systems with information technology

  There are a number of 'disruptive' technologies positioned around the land mobile radio market, including radio over IP (RoIP), software defined radios (SDR), cognitive radios and others. These technologies are often positioned as replacements to radios; however, the reality is that they complement these systems. In this presentation we will review and explain some of these technologies, discuss their impact on the market and provide detailed examples of existing solutions.

• Brad Dolphin - Chief Executive Officer - Auira Wireless
  Exploiting the advantages of P25 in regional and remote deployments

  P25 has proved to be a very robust and reliable air interface providing improved coverage over conventional analog FM services.

  At a core network level, the P25 standard has a number of interfaces defined based on the IP protocols. Building large networks based on IP links has significant advantages in metropolitan areas but has some drawbacks in regional and remote areas where the cost of providing IP links to base stations can be costly and can add additional points of failure and lead to service downtime.

  This presentation will look at an option for deploying remote linked repeaters without having to install IP links. The solution architecture also allows the potential to re-use existing link frequencies and radio infrastructure.

• Phil Lonsdale - Manager Eastern States - Omnitronics
  Radio and the IT convergence

  The convergence of the RF/Wireless and IT has, for our industry, been relatively slow with the early 2000s seeing the first of these interface solutions becoming commonly and commercially available. This is no longer the case with acceleration in this convergence seeing many in our industry a bit wide and glassy eyed with the new technology.

  Stalwarts of the radio industry are now embracing the IP technology with the knowledge that their black art RF is a far more difficult technology to understand than IT. We are even seeing the mega IT departments of yesterday being forcibly merged under the communications umbrella of large organisations and 'the budgets shared'.

  So how can your organisation merge your current communication technologies to improve communication efficiency, redundancy and costs? - You can merge your RF and IT networks.

  The session 'Radio & the IT convergence' may assist you in understanding how these technologies can bed together.

• Gary Ertel - Managing Director - Data over Radio
  Are you getting the maximum benefit from your radio network?

  With the explosion of new radio technology being launched onto the two-way radio market today, it is important that network providers and network users are both getting the maximum value from their radio networks.

  • It takes a look at the new kid on the block (data) with regards to its applications which include location, workflow management, RadioEmail, and Radio over IP solutions.
  • It also covers the subject on how to start a mobile data project and what the benefits are to both the network operator and the network user. Calculating the return on investment is never easy; however, this presentation shows how this can be easily calculated.
  • Finally, with three case studies to end the presentation it will give an insight to both network operators and users of radio networks as to why they should be asking the question: Are you getting the maximum benefit from your radio network?

• Craig Lloyd - Director, Emergency Services Policy and Support - Department of Justice, State Government of Victoria
  Understanding business needs in communications projects

  Evidence suggests that failure to clearly identify the business needs and service delivery approach of the customer can lead to significant shortcoming of the end product, increased costs and even death!

  This presentation will explore examples of scoping failures and the methods used by the Victorian Department of Justice to ensure that the future communications upgrades and replacements allow the emergency services to fully realise their planned service delivery model.

• David Lum- Director, Asia/Pacific Product & Support Operations - Motorola (International Speaker)
  The digital dividend - global trends in spectrum

  Increasingly, applications for new wireless data and video technologies are pushing communication developments far beyond voice. In order to use these technologies effectively and in a cost-effective manner, three areas must converge in order to achieve the best possible outcome:

  • Technologies, open standards and spectrum.
  • Technology developed by manufacturers.
  • Open standards driven by the end users.
  • Spectrum regulated by government.
  • Spectrum is the enabler; without spectrum, there is no wireless communications.

  The 'digital dividend', created as a result of analog to digital migration of the broadcast band, provides a window of opportunity to engage regulators to ensure enough broadband spectrum is available for the current and future needs of technology users.

• Stephen Ayers - Senior Engineer - Lockheed Martin
  Real-time video intelligence over narrowband radio channels - case studies from industry and emergency services

  Delivering video intelligence from remote locations using narrowband radio channels is providing enhanced situational awareness for industry, transport and the emergency services sectors. Videoconferencing and surveillance, normally limited to high-capacity landlines or microwave radio channels, is now available via cellular and U/VHF bearers. Case studies drawn from a variety of sectors will highlight the added value that this technology can bring.

• Jose Manuel Martin Espinosa - Senior Vice President - Teltronic (International Speaker)
  Digital networks are filling the complicated communications needs of buses, metros and railways around the world

  Mobile radio has recently taken up a larger role in the transportation market, initially providing two-way voice communications and now data services. Affordable GPS devices transformed the industry along with automatic vehicle location (AVL), forcing enhanced capacity, functionality and flexibility in mobile radio.

  The development of command and control in vehicles further impacted radio communications and a bus or train could no longer be considered simply a vehicle as it included integrated, sophisticated systems that remotely monitored and controlled various critical functionalities.

  All these developments have led to the current concept of fleet management. The market produced a number of solutions and trends that included enhanced conventional systems, analog trunking such as MPT1327, Smartnet and EDACS, Digital PMR such as Project 25 (P25) and digital mobile radio (DMR); digital trunking such as TETRA, Tetrapol and iDEN and cellular services such as GPRS.

  However, the latest generation of digital radio systems, especially those based on TDMA architecture such as TETRA, offers a wide range of transport services - SDS, packet data and circuit data - further boosted by embedded services at the transport layer that allow extremely efficient AVL and voice and data applications, and economy and capability can be balanced according to design criteria.

  Real-world examples include public transport operators for buses and trams.

  Digital radio also offers an alternative with a number of applications developed over TETRA for Metro Trains and MRTS that address voice and data, built-in emergency functions, public address systems, ambient listening, emergency braking, fire extinguisher activation and interaction with a train's control and monitoring system. TETRA-based solutions, such as video, music, lights, air conditioning and remotely controlled doors, are becoming dominant in metros worldwide. Success in metros around the world has led the industry to believe that a train-to-ground system could be implemented over TETRA as well.

  The TETRA technology in both cost, spectrum consumption and functionality is a real and economic alternative to GSM-R for Railways that addresses all the European Rail Traffic Management Solution (ERMTS) requirements, particularly with TETRA Release 2 and TETRA enhanced data service (TEDS).

• Trevor Laughton - Strategy and Innovation Manager - Tait Radio Communications
  The increasing presence of Project 25

  This session will provide an overview of Project 25 as it stands today, and an in-depth look at the advances soon to be available within the standard. Attendees will have the chance to understand how manufacturers are working together to improve interoperability and ultimately provide more choice for those purchasing radios. Utilising case study examples, there will also be a discussion on how public safety agencies are utilising the technology - from large digital trunked networks to hybrid solutions. Finally, this presentation will address P25 beyond public safety to show how industries such as transport and utilities are incorporating the technology into their radio solution.

  Learning Objectives:

  1. An update on to Project 25 as it stands today, and an in-depth look at the advances soon to be available within the standard.
  2. Illustrate real-life examples of P25 standards being implemented for simulcast, trunked, conventional and hybrid (analog and digital) systems and multi-vendor procurement.
  3. Beyond public safety - explain how P25 is being utilised in other industries and beyond the USA.

• Scott Alford - Business Development Manager, Systems - RFI
  The changing landscape of coverage extension for radio networks

  The use of coverage extension repeaters provides innovative solutions for the enhancement of network coverage in radio networks. The changing landscape of technologies, including DSP implementations, RF-over-fibre, and frequency translation techniques, is providing new opportunities for network enhancement.

• Paul Isaacs - Chief Engineer - Airwave Solutions Australia (International Speaker)
  Interoperability through successful integration

  Without a doubt, lives depend on effective communication. It is well recognised that a coordinated emergency response relies on the ability to share information with the right people at the right time. Too often in the past, poor communication capability has hampered efforts to respond to major incidents. Interoperability may be a simple and compelling concept, but implementation is less easy to achieve.

  Every system requiring some level of multi-agency interoperability requires an integration approach that thoroughly tests each aspect of the solution, ensuring no degradation in performance of the individual systems. Paul will take us through real-world examples of the integration effort required to ensure reliable communication bridges exist for Police, Fire, Ambulance and other Statutory Bodies when using different voice, data, terminals, and control rooms in the world's largest public safety network environment.

• Mr Phil Godfrey - Chairman - International TETRA Association (International Speaker)
  TETRA: a global technology for today and tomorrow

  This presentation will chart the success of the TETRA standard as a technology for worldwide markets and look at the challenges ahead in meeting users' needs in the medium and long term. The transition to data-centric communications seems to be gaining speed, and the evolution of TETRA is planned to support mission-critical broadband as well as the vital voice services, protecting investments in this hugely successful technology.

• Paul Daigneault - Managing Director - MiMOMax Wireless Limited
  MiMOMax narrowband wireless linking solutions

  As device capability increases, applications become more sophisticated and simultaneously move to utilise generic ubiquitous interfaces, and the appetite for data naturally increases. In the wired world, standards have evolved to provide this increase in bandwidth, often by using existing infrastructure. However, in the more constrained world of wireless it may be somewhat more difficult. Additionally, the move to ubiquitous interfaces brings with it some unique challenges.

  In the wireless world, the solution to this additional demand for bandwidth has typically been to move away from the 'golden spectrum' to the higher frequencies where greater bandwidths are available. These higher frequencies bring with them their own challenges and may not always be desirable pipes.

  Additionally, spectrum, especially in the lower frequency bands, is the most valuable resource available to the radio engineer. They are not making any more and no amount of money can create any more.

  This presentation demonstrates that by using modern technology it is possible today to maintain the advantages well recognised by radio engineers in the golden spectrum, and still provide highly reliable, ultra high spectrally efficient solutions to evolving applications which require more bandwidth.

• Andrew Findlay - Managing Director - Vertel
  Infrastructure and towers: out of mind, out of site

  • To provide an understanding on how network trends (move from analog to digital PMR; move from 2G to 3G and beyond; development of the NBN etc) will shape and be shaped by the availability of relevant and affordable site infrastructure for wireless networks.
  • The move to next-generation SCADA, land mobile radio, fixed wireless access and mobile telephony networks is expected to generate significant challenges and opportunities for carriers and site operators alike. The presentation is intended to provide an overview of some of the technical, commercial, regulatory and social drivers of the availability and suitability of wireless site infrastructure in Australia.

• Gavin Jenkins - Kenwood LMR/NXDN Technical Advisor NSW/QLD Dealer Manager - Kenwood Electronics Australia
  NXDN, narrowing the options

  The presentation will look at the new digital platform NXDN and the associated manufacturers that have taken on this technology as their preferred choice for the next generation of digital radio communications.