Victoria State Emergency Service extends Pacnet contract

The Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) has extended its networking contract with Pacnet for another 36 months as part of a partnership that dates back to 2007.

The vendor has worked with VICSES since 2007 to maintain the organisation’s networking capabilities and broadband connections. This maintenance has ensured that VICSES staff have access to communications 24/7 at 145 sites in Victoria.

Under the contract extension, Pacnet will continue to maintain a Layer 3 multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) network so that staff can maintain contact during emergency situations.

According to VICSE CEO Stephen Griffin, it wanted to continue the relationship due to the company’s “excellent track record of delivering reliable services for VICSES and always meeting our needs".

In 2013, Pacnet upgraded the broadband connections at 28 VICSES incident command centres and division command points from ADSL to fibre optic connections with IP-based virtual private networks (IPVPN).

This has allowed VICSES to scale up its bandwidth as required, using more capacity during peak or emergency periods, and dialling down its use at other times.

In September 2013, the Victorian government announced $533,400 for a pilot program that would allow the state's emergency service organisations and volunteers to communicate wirelessly over a common channel on any smartphone.

Trials took place on an integrated voice, text, email, video and location services application for smartphones. The project is funded under the Coalition government’s Broadband-Enabled Innovation Program.

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