Tokyo, Japan & Melbourne, Australia - NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) announced today that NEC Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC and a leading Australian ICT solutions and services firm, has been awarded the next phase of the NSW Police Force’s microwave radio communications network upgrade contract.

This dedicated infrastructure is critical to the service provided by NSW Police’s 20,000 staff, including its 16,000+ sworn officers, working from 500 police stations across the State.

NEC is delivering its technologically advanced and proven iPASOLINK VR platform, which enables the seamless upgrade of the radio network’s capacity, effectively future-proofing communications, on demand.

Under the new contract, NEC will supply an additional 110 of the latest generation iPASOLINK terminals to the New England region of northern NSW. From its experience of the 180 iPASOLINK terminals already deployed, NSW Police expects this latest rollout out to be equally reliable and easy to install and configure.

The robust iPASOLINK Outdoor Units (ODUs) deliver market leading Radio Frequency (RF) performance and are designed to operate in the harshest environmental conditions. Crucial to the iPASOLINK selection is its small size, which reduces tower load and eliminates the high cost of strengthening towers to accommodate larger, heavier equipment. The ODUs’ low power consumption makes the platform ideal for deployment in rural and remote areas, where solar energy is often used as power source for telecom towers.

Availability of skilled NEC engineering teams was pivotal in providing installation support to the NSW Police Force.

David Brogden, Commander, Wireless Technology, NSW Police Force, said: “The new iPASOLINK platform is underpinning our critical radio communications network, essential to the protection of NSW’s seven million people. Not only is it robust in all conditions but its light weight also helps us reduce operational costs.”

Krisztian Som, Radio Solutions Business Manager at NEC Australia, said: “This contract is another example of NEC’s expertise in designing and delivering innovative solutions for Australia’s emergency and public safety agencies. As one of the top Microwave suppliers globally, NEC will continue to invest heavily in the business in order to bring cutting edge products and solutions to the market.”

About the NEC supported network

In 2014, as part of the Radio Communications Maintenance Program, the NSW Police Force completed an extensive tender process to identify a microwave systems supplier for its critical, dedicated communications network. As the selected microwave systems supplier, NEC deployed over 180 iPASOLINK radio terminals in rural areas across NSW - from the rainforests of the northern rivers area to the coastal fringes of the far south coast to the arid areas in the Murray-Darling Basin.

This infrastructure is part of the Police Communications Assurance Program (PCAP) and is essential to NSW Police’s 20,000 staff, which includes 16,000+ sworn officers, working from 500 local police stations across the State. The network provides fully resilient emergency services communications covering an area of 801,600 square kilometres.

NEC Australia is committed to NEC’s global ambition to orchestrate a brighter world by creating social value through cutting edge technologies that support safer, sustainable and prosperous societies.