Filling in the GRN gaps

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rustynswrail
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Filling in the GRN gaps

Post by rustynswrail » Fri Dec 18, 2015 10:52 am

This is what happens when you have too much time on your hands - you start to wonder.

If you take a casual look at a GRN coverage map there are three areas that seem to scream out for inclusion, one area is from the snowfields west across the Victoria border and the other from Yass down the Hume through to Albury. And finally through Wagga etc again finishing at Albury, basically joining up the zones mentioned above. Given the amount of road traffic the Hume carries, one would have thought it would have been a must have.

The various emergency services, in recent years, have spent a bucket load of money establishing PMR systems across those areas. FRNSW, RFS and even the ambulance (I think but don't quote me on that one) have all done it with considerable outlay from departmental budgets. Not to mention the NSWP.

Now the question is, surely it would have made more sense to take that money and expand the GRN into those areas rather than building the individual PMR systems?

Just a thought.

R
Amateur Radio, when all other cures for insomnia fail!

matthewn1983
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Re: Filling in the GRN gaps

Post by matthewn1983 » Fri Dec 18, 2015 3:38 pm

Probably not worth it for the amount of users it would handle.

Longreach
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Re: Filling in the GRN gaps

Post by Longreach » Fri Dec 18, 2015 11:13 pm

I agree with Rusty, the snow area is one i cant figure out. It wouldn't have taken too many sites to get it sorted and they're wouldn't have been a need for so many PMR networks. The Hume being another.
The way the Victorians have done it is the right way, eventually all comms will go on the RMR and they're wont be a need to shell out for agency PMR networks.
I think the telco have dropped the ball on this matter.
VK2MRC

ivahri
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Re: Filling in the GRN gaps

Post by ivahri » Sun May 08, 2016 9:54 am

Now will all of you support it when you are paying for it out of your state charges & insurance levies? Be careful what you wish for because you get nothing for nothing & a state wide trunking network will be VERY expensive- and the cost of that will be covered by the residents of NSW. Be very careful comparing NSW to Victoria because there is a huge difference in the size of the two states...

That's all I'll say...


Richard

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Bigfella237
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Re: Filling in the GRN gaps

Post by Bigfella237 » Sun May 08, 2016 12:10 pm

If you consider that the residents of NSW are already paying for half a dozen separate PMR networks now that cover those same areas the cost is much less of a factor.

Pooling resources by getting police, ambulance, fire, RFS, SES, energy, railways (and God knows who else) all on a common network should actually work out cheaper, but it seems some of the individual agencies are hell bent on maintaining their own little empires.

It's the old catch 22... the GRN needs the patronage to expand, but then the lack of coverage is used as an excuse not to migrate.

Andrew

Scotty
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Re: Filling in the GRN gaps

Post by Scotty » Sun May 08, 2016 5:48 pm

I don't believe the 'hell bent on maintaining their own little empires' is accurate for the larger users. Their networks are still in place because they require coverage that the GRN simply does not provide - even after more than 20 years of operation.

I completely agree that if the money was pooled the resources for the GRN would be greater and coverage would be improved - but the users who still run their own networks are not guaranteed to have coverage where they have it now. So where is the incentive?

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rustynswrail
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Re: Filling in the GRN gaps

Post by rustynswrail » Sun May 08, 2016 5:54 pm

Bigfella237 wrote:If you consider that the residents of NSW are already paying for half a dozen separate PMR networks now that cover those same areas the cost is much less of a factor. Pooling resources by getting police, ambulance, fire, RFS, SES, energy, railways (and God knows who else) all on a common network should actually work out cheaper, but it seems some of the individual agencies are hell bent on maintaining their own little empires.
It's the old catch 22... the GRN needs the patronage to expand, but then the lack of coverage is used as an excuse not to migrate.
Andrew
Andrew,

Spot on and pretty much my argument from the start. As I said in the second paragraph of my original post, the money being spent on separate PMR networks be directed to expansion of the GRN, not that the expansion take place in parallel to the PMR systems. Therefore the need for additional taxes and levies is a moot argument.

Empire building in government agencies is not new, it has been around since Adam and Eve were public servants, so it doesn't really surprise me that some departments have resisted the move for whatever reason. With government looking to reduce expenditure then surely this must be one way of doing it. I fail to see the need for duplicate networks (police, fire, RFS, ambulance and so on) covering mainly the same area. It has been proved that multiple agencies can operate on a single network (the NSWGRN) without too many issues.

R
Amateur Radio, when all other cures for insomnia fail!

ivahri
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Re: Filling in the GRN gaps

Post by ivahri » Sun May 08, 2016 7:40 pm

Bigfella237 wrote:If you consider that the residents of NSW are already paying for half a dozen separate PMR networks now that cover those same areas the cost is much less of a factor.

Pooling resources by getting police, ambulance, fire, RFS, SES, energy, railways (and God knows who else) all on a common network should actually work out cheaper, but it seems some of the individual agencies are hell bent on maintaining their own little empires.

It's the old catch 22... the GRN needs the patronage to expand, but then the lack of coverage is used as an excuse not to migrate.

Andrew
Andrew,

If you added the cost of supporting ALL of those networks and compared it to the cost of supporting ONE statewide trunking system you would get a very big shock...

Do you really think the individual agencies are the only empire builders? Come back to planet earth Andrew...


Richard

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Bigfella237
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Re: Filling in the GRN gaps

Post by Bigfella237 » Sun May 08, 2016 7:50 pm

ivahri wrote: ~ Come back to planet earth Andrew...

Richard
...but I like it up here... :D

crafty
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Re: Filling in the GRN gaps

Post by crafty » Sun May 08, 2016 8:15 pm

re the cost of running the RFS, check out these links for just one LGA in a RFS zone:

http://www.nambucca.nsw.gov.au/bps/Open ... tName_6174 (note reference to radio budget)

http://www.nambucca.nsw.gov.au/bps/Open ... tName_6186

Regards Allison

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