Telstra to deploy national warning system

By Ben Grubb on Sep 25, 2009 11:20 AM
Filed under Telco/ISP

Beats Optus to win $15m deal.

Telstra will build the infrastructure for a new national telephony-based warning system that will alert Australians in the event of a life-threatening emergency.

Victorian Police and Emergency Services Minister Bob Cameron said that after a rigorous tender process, where Telstra was chosen over rival Optus, the Victorian phase of the system would be completed by the end of October, allowing for the system to be ready in time for the next bushfire season.

"Experts predict this fire season could be potentially worse than the season we've just experienced and Victoria led the delivery of the new national based system because we wanted a system in place for this fire season that could alert communities in the event of a life-threatening emergency,” the Minister said.

The need for an alert system was highlighted earlier this year when a series of bushfires ignited across the Victoria in February, which resulted in 170 deaths - Australia's highest ever loss of life from a bushfire.

After the bushfires occurred the government was heavily criticised for not having a warning system in place.

The Minister explained that the system would alert communities to emergencies by sending a recorded voice message to landline telephones and an SMS text message to mobiles based on subscribers' billing address.

The Victorian Government said it aimed to develop an additional capability to deliver mobile phone messages based on the physical location of a handset at the time of an emergency. It also wants to be able to use the technology to track down mobile phones.

It will address the handset tracking system in its latest request for tender, which closes on 28 October.

Telstra to deploy national warning system

3 comments in this discussion

"How hard would it be to implement such a system? One has to wonder. They did something like this on the second day of the bushfires in Victoria. I was in Tasmania at the time and my billing ..."

By bengrubb

Tags

telstra, optus, warning, system, bob, cameron, bushfire, victoria

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Comments: 3

Jahm Mitt Sep 26, 2009 7:17 PM	Haaaaa Let me see..... Dial an easy to remember 9 digit number, press button 1 for a fire report, press 2 for a report on a fire, press 3 for a fire in Australia, press 4 etc., Hmmm then we have sorry the robot you have called in not in, please press 1 to leave a message, press 2 to return to the main menue, or press 3 to terminate the call. Hmmmmmmmmmm then we get bouncing around between the departments......... 2 hours later - into the first call.... Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I know, Telstra is going to give us all SCANN or Super Calling All by Numb Nuts; they are going to issue break down proof telephony system of 2 cans and a string; to everyone and for a $399 upgrade, they will toss in a 1km roll of fine fire resistant fencing wire. 15 Million for the system - that's $500 for the wages of a few Telstra Tossers over morning tea; and $100 per set of tin cans and 100m of string per subscriber. Yay Telstra. (goes and buys shovel and digs deep trench and covers it with sheet iron and lots of dirt and basic sand filled steel door - which comes to a day in the garden and $100)
Slatts Sep 27, 2009 8:42 AM	Jahm Mitt wrote: Some meaningless dribble I'm starting to see a trend.
bengrubb Sep 27, 2009 1:27 PM	How hard would it be to implement such a system? One has to wonder. They did something like this on the second day of the bushfires in Victoria. I was in Tasmania at the time and my billing address a Queensland address. I reckon' they already have some sort of system in place.