LTE  |  2022-03-24

BAI and NEC Team Up for Down Under Public Safety Mobile Broadband (PSMB)

Source: BAI Communications
Curated by: Gert Jan Wolf - Editor-in Chief for The Critical Communications Review

BAI Communications (BAI), a leading communications infrastructure provider and NEC Australia, a leading ICT solutions and services company have today agreed to strengthen their ongoing relationship and seek out new strategic opportunities for partnership.

This builds on each organisation’s complementary strengths to create a superior 5G offering to the telecommunications market. Both organisations have invested significantly in building their local teams’ 5G, mobile edge computing, and IoT capabilities. 5G solutions are an important growth pillar for both BAI and NEC, which share common major customers, including carriers, and state and federal government agencies.

BAI and NEC have a long and close working relationship in Australia. BAI is at the forefront of broadcast transmission, delivering 126 million broadcasting hours, reaching 99% of the Australian population. NEC has supplied analogue and digital radio and broadcast transmission and microwave solutions for BAI’s extensive network for decades.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by BAI Australia CEO, Peter Lambourne and NEC ANZ President & CEO, Mitsuhiro Murooka in Sydney on Thursday, 24 March 2022. It provides a framework for collaboration on 4G/5G related wireless opportunities in mutual strategic areas. This framework can be used to pursue opportunities such as bids, trials, and solutions for carriers, government, public transport authorities, and private network operators.

BAI and NEC are interested in developing neutral host network solutions that use a common infrastructure platform for all wireless carriers. This solution allows for a ‘whole of precinct approach’ and is more cost effective for the carriers and reduces environmental impact.

One use case for a neutral host network is the proposed Public Safety Mobile Broadband (PSMB) capability, which can deliver high speed data, increase situational awareness, collaboration, and provide a safer operational environment for first responders.