Christchurch-based Tait Electronics has begun work on a $30 million contract to supply equipment for a mobile radio network which will give coverage to most of the Canadian province of Alberta.
Tait, our largest exporter of telecommunications equipment, won the contract for the network despite fierce competition from globalsuppliers including Motorola.
Tait has a five-year deal to supply the network and terminal equipment for 200 sites across the province and believes the contract opens the way for a move into the lucrative North American market, the only place its radio networks do not have market share.
The contract is with mobile communications company Telus Mobility, which will use the TaitNet system for public access mobile radio services, including voice and data, for fleets in the oil, gas and forestry industries and Government and utility organisations.
Tait plans to open and office in Edmonton; it already has one in Ontario.
Tait North American regional manager Steve Cragg says the 200-site public access system will be the largest it has supplied and be similar to Telecom's FleetLink service - which covers this country - and systems it has in place in Malaysia.
The technology will offer one-to-one and group calls, interconnection with the telephone network, messaging and mobile data services. It can easily be added to in modules to meet growth or changes in technology. The equipment is being customised to cope with Alberta's harsh climate.
Trunk radio was first developed in the late 70s in the US and has been based on proprietary technology, particularly in the US. Britain adopted an open standard that has become the de facto world standard with about 30 manufacturers vying for the market, which spokesman Andrew Trevalyn said had now reached critical mass.
The company is working on gateways to migrate Tait's analogue-based systems to become digital. It recently won a multimillion-dollar contract in partnership with UK-based Simoco to provide the Tetra digital radio network for the Auckland police region in time for the Apec summit and the America's Cup.
