New Digital Radio system Cleared for Takeoff at London Gatwick Airport
MOTOTRBO Capacity Max voice and data communications network from Motorola Solutions will underpin growth and bring safety and efficiency improvements to ground staff, security and maintenance teams.
Motorola Solutions is launching its MOTOTRBO Capacity Max system at London Gatwick Airport in the south of England, alongside authorised channel partner Servicom. The airport is one of the United Kingdom’s most important transport hubs, with more than 4.6 million passengers travelling through it this July alone.
The state-of-the-art system will bring enhanced voice and data communications to 1,300 users both airside and groundside. Ground staff, security personnel and maintenance teams across the airport will all benefit from the new innovation, and there are plans in place for further expansion.
The new Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) system will double the capacity of the existing analogue network and is fully scalable, in readiness for the airport’s ongoing growth.
In addition to reliable and secure voice communications, airside and groundside teams at Gatwick will also be able to take advantage of Capacity Max’s powerful data performance with new applications.
These include TRBOnet PLUS, a dispatcher application that enables voice recording, mapping and event logging in the control room, and iBeacon indoor positioning, which allows alerts to be sent to individual radios based on location. With the new system, central controllers can dispatch the closest employee to an incident, saving staff valuable time.
Other built-in functions include settings for lone workers, geo-fencing to create restricted areas and automated escalation protocols, which will bring upgraded safety and security capabilities.
As the hardware is connected to WiFi, software updates can be sent to equipment quickly and with less load on the radio network.
“We chose Motorola Solutions’ MOTOTRBO Capacity Max system not only for how resilient and secure it is, but because of the flexibility it offers us now and into the future,” said Simon Telling, IT project manager at Gatwick Airport Limited.
“We have experienced significant growth over the past decade and we are now approaching the limits of our previous analogue system. Migrating to scalable, digital communications will double our capacity and bring new capabilities that will help us improve efficiency and safety for staff, retail partners and passengers across the airport.
Vivienne Francis, EMEA vice president channel sales & operations at Motorola Solutions, said: “It has been a great pleasure to work with our partners at Servicom on this next generation solution for London Gatwick Airport. Through our strong partnership and focus on customer requirements, we are introducing best-in-class business technology that will support efficiency, security and safety at the airport now and for many years to come.
“Thanks to settings on the new devices which enable them to work on both the analogue network and the new Capacity Max system, the migration will take place through a phased roll-out with minimal disruption to working processes, another important advantage at a busy airport.”
