04 April 2024

Motorola Solutions has announced that it will provide Victoria’s Country Fire Authority (CFA) with 16,000 new APX series P25 radios in a significant upgrade to firefighting communications technology, marking a new era in critical comms.

Included within the package will be approximately 9,000 of Motorola Solutions’ APX NEXT all-band smart radios, which provide mission-critical voice communications and productivity-enhancing data applications to enhance safety and incident awareness for firefighters.

“APX radios enable the reliable communication that’s critical for fire and emergency agencies to collaborate, particularly in the face of more frequent and severe natural disasters and other complex events,” said Con Balaskas, managing director for Australia and New Zealand, Motorola Solutions. “And our APX NEXT radios bring additional capabilities that maximise the use of data in the field, delivering rich insights to further strengthen workflow efficiency and safety.”

APX NEXT data applications include SmartConnect to automatically switch voice communications from land mobile radio (LMR) to broadband networks when users travel outside of radio coverage areas, SmartMapping to pinpoint the location of firefighters and vehicles in the field, and ViQi voice control to enable first responders to quickly manage radio controls through simple and intuitive voice commands.

In line with the new deal, Motorola Solutions will upgrade and support CFA’s radio equipment relied upon for frontline firefighting communication, strengthening emergency response from brigades as part of a 10-year services contract. The modernisation program will replace CFA’s radios used in the field, on fire trucks, in command vehicles and within fire stations.

The new devices will be used on the Victorian Government’s Regional Mobile Radio (RMR) and Metropolitan Mobile Radio (MMR) networks, which provide secure radio communications across regional, rural, and metropolitan Victoria.