Vic Govt keeps $96m Motorola deal

in brief The Victorian Government has extended its mobile data network (MDN) contract with Motorola until December 2014 in a deal worth $96 million.

The two primary users of the "mission-critical" network Motorola has implemented are Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria. According to Motorola, since it first started providing the mobile data network in 2006, it has increased the efficiency of those agencies, improving officer safety and making sure resources were deployed in a way which will achieve the best outcome.

"MDN puts information at the fingertips of emergency services teams. Police, for example, have an instantly responsive and in-field weapon for identifying and apprehending offenders by accessing centralised law enforcement and records management systems via in-vehicle computers," Motorola Australia managing director Gary Starr said in a statement.

As the contract continues, the network will be upgraded. One improvement will be the use of public phone networks such as 3G networks to give officers state-wide coverage. Officers will be able to roam between the public and Motorola network depending on the application they intend to use, relieving pressure from the mission critical network for "high-demand" situations. The Motorola network will also receive a speed boost and new computers will be installed in officers' cars.