St John Ambulance and Healthcare Services, New Zealand

St John utilizes a nationwide analog LMR radio network provided by a commercial radio network provider, and ambulance stations and officers around the country are managed from three communications centers.

The network's backhaul is a mixture of fiber and microwave and connects the three communications centers to a conventional network formed by more than 165 repeater sites nationwide.

St John identified several regional groups where – if part of the network failed – the organization could potentially lose the ability to communicate with ambulance stations and staff in districts served by the cut-off repeater.

St John decided to add Tait TeamPTT to its national mobile radio system primarily because the service enhanced the robustness of the radio network’s backhaul. Another reason was the fact that Tait TeamPTT increases coverage and availability for all mission-critical users, and allows non-frontline staff to monitor and take part in emergency communications through their cell phones.

Tait TeamPTT is used by St John regional on-call managers to access communications on radio networks outside their immediate geographic area when they need to coordinate a response across a wide area outside their local LMR network.

St John also finds Tait TeamPTT useful at events where a number of staff are on duty. Event managers can use GPS tracking on the smartphone app to see the location of all St John staff and ensure the closest staff respond to any incident.

St John’s radio network is designed for mobile coverage, which means radio communication within a building is not always possible. In these cases, St John staff use the Tait TeamPTT app on their smartphones to get WiFi or cellular access to the LMR network.