Diverse Power, an electric utility company based in La Grange, in the US state of Georgia, has agreed for PowerTrunk to upgrade and expand its digital TETRA two-way radio communications network.
The project will integrate the PowerTrunk-T TETRA network infrastructure with the existing TETRA network owned by Diverse Power. Several additional site base stations will be added to the TETRA network to provide increased radio coverage over a wider area. Diverse Power has chosen to implement Sepura technology STP9000 TETRA portable radios and SRG3900 mobile gateways as the end-user equipment.
Diverse Power was an early adopter of TETRA technology in the US having purchased a network in 2013 from Hytera for managing workers' daily operations. The utility company required a system that would provide clear and effective communication, enable asset tracking, and allow for employee geo-location and emergency management. The expanded Diverse Power TETRA network will provide coverage to approximately 60 per cent the State of Georgia and be monitored and maintained with their partner, Dean’s Commercial Two-Way.
"Diverse Power quickly recognized the advantages of TETRA over other land mobile radio technologies available in the market, and shortly thereafter confirmed their intentions to upgrade and expand the network", said Jim Mattox, PowerTrunk VP of Strategic Development for Utilities Market. "And since TETRA is an open standard, they weren't locked in to a single manufacturer, so the PowerTrunk solution fits in with their current network architecture almost seamlessly. In fact, part of the project includes over-the-air gateways between the existing equipment and the PowerTrunk system to assure that migration is graceful and transparent to the users meanwhile the network is reconfigured as part of the expansion."
The PowerTrunk-T system enables data applications such as GPS tracking, SCADA applications, and e-mail implementation for TETRA radio users. Harris County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and the Harris County Sheriff's Office in Georgia are also users of the Diverse Power TETRA network.
"We are extremely pleased that Diverse Power has decided to turn to us to provide them their TETRA network upgrade,” said Jose Martin, CEO of PowerTrunk. “This is a further boost to PowerTrunk's reputation as the leading TETRA supplier in North America, recently strengthened through our integration into the Sepura Group, and we think it says a lot about being a company that customers can come to for solutions to their needs."
PowerTrunk was the first company to introduce and implement TETRA-based radio networks in North America. It delivered the first system in Canada in 2012 and then the first in the US in 2013. Diverse Power is a member-owned electric cooperative that provides electric utility services to several counties in western Georgia.
