DMR  |  2011-04-29

SELEX Communications strengthens ARES 118 radio communications system of Rome for May 1st celebrations

Source: The Critical Communications Review | Gert Jan Wolf editor

On the occasion of beatification of John Paul II and the May 1st concert in Rome, the city doubles the traffic capacity of its radio system.

On the occasion of beatification of John Paul II and the May 1st concert in Rome, the city doubles the traffic capacity of its radio system in order to manage the medical emergency service calls. Over a million pilgrims and tourists will be safer thanks to the new Regione Lazio radio communication network used by ARES 118 of Rome. The infrastructure has been provided by SELEX Communications to meet the technical requirements of Lait, the in house company that designs and manages the Regione Lazio ICT system.

Implemented using Simulcast-DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) technology, the new network ad hoc supplied by SELEX Communications, in particular to deal with the huge volume of communications until May 5, safeguarding radio coverage for the entire city area within the Grande Raccordo Anulare.
It’s expected the peak radio coverage will be in the central areas, which will be a particularly focus for
the events, where medical first-aid base camps will be set up: S. Peters; Saint Angel Castle; Risorgimento Square; Circus Maximus; S. Giovanni Square; Termini Train Station; Cavour Square; Anagnina; Tor Vergata.

selex_rome_picture_van.jpgThe network encompasses seven repeaters: the main, fitted to manage the entire system, will be located by San Camillo Hospital Control Room; and the other six by S. Giovanni, Monte Mario, Campidoglio, Saint Angel Castle and other zones inside and outside the city walls. The Control Room will be able to co-ordinate all medical emergency actions, communicating with more than 200 operators of the ARES 118, equipped with SELEX Communications DMR terminals distributed across the zone, the base camps and in the field hospitals. Some terminals feature GPS that allows them to be radio-located by the Control Room.

All operators will be provided with two channels to allow two-way digital radio communications, doubling traffic capacity compared to that of the conventional analogical system that ARES 118 is using today.

SELEX Communications has renowned expertise in providing emergency communications for major events, as recently demonstrated for other international events held in Italy, such as the G8 in L’Aquila in July 2009 and Civil Defense TEREX (Tuscany Earthquake Relief Exercise) exercise, carried out in Tuscany at the end of 2010.

Source: www.selex-comms.com