Tasmanian agencies to start using new government radio network in August

The new Tasmanian Government Radio Network (TasGRN) will start serving its first users in four agencies in August.

Emergency services minister Felix Ellis made the announcement yesterday, saying the network “will provide greater interoperability, increased coverage, secure, encrypted communications for our emergency service workers, and will deliver a modern user interface.”

The contract to build the network was granted to Telstra and Motorola Systems in August 2020.

It comes at a cost, however: the $763 million Ellis said the government had spent on the network is $196 million more than the $567 million anticipated in December 2020 when the government announced the project’s costing.

In September 2020, a parliamentary committee [pdf] estimated the cost at $400 million.

The first users will be Hydro Tasmania, TasNetworks, Parks and Wildlife and Sustainable Timber Tasmania. Police, fire, and emergency services agencies will follow.

“As an added bonus, the TasGRN will deliver improved mobile phone coverage for Telstra users in Tasmania at no cost to the State, particularly in regional Tasmania," Ellis said.

TasGRN replaces five discrete networks currently in use with a P25-compliant digital network.