Telecommunications
Radio communications
Currently, all voice and data radio communications of the Sub-Directorate General of SAMUR Civil Protection are carried out through the Madrid City Council's TETRA digital trunking communications network or system. This has been expanded to 19 radio-linked base stations, with the central SWITCH having been doubled with a second switch installed in the CISEM backup centre. The Madrid City Council operates this system on an auto-carrier system.
Deputy Directorate-General of SAMUR-Protección Civil has been assigned 5 talk group ranges (*):
- Two ranges of 16 groups for ordinary use.
- Single range for use on the Metro network with three talk groups.
- Single range for use at the airport.
- Single range for shared use with other municipal emergency services with five talk groups.
- (*) A range is a set of talk groups. A talk group is the functional equivalent of a radio channel.
The TETRA network is particularly useful for the transmission of short data messages (up to 128 characters), for unit activation and for tracking (notifications are sent to bases and ambulances from the Dispatch Centre's resource management application). In turn, the ambulances send Samur status messages which are automatically included in the resource management application.
We maintain the hospital advance notification network, with stations in all public hospitals in Madrid, and the early notification network, with stations in fire stations, the Metro, Public Bus network (EMT), Railroad company (RENFE) and radio taxi companies.
The TETRA communications at the Dispatch Centre have recently been improved with the installation of five Elite Dispatch consoles and a CEB TETRA. Accordingly, this allows the Dispatch Centre’s radio stations to perform the PTT function directly with the TETRA hub located at the CISEM through the City Council's transport network. This strengthens the radio capabilities of the Centre, giving it priority over other equipment, eliminating call setup time and enabling multiple functionalities to create talk groups, even adding several.
Communication in mass casualty incidents:
We have a device consisting of 10 ruggedized laptops connected to our central server via UMTS installed in the coordination vehicles. This allows for, in addition to managing mass casualty incidents, on-call managers to access the internet and the service's corporate application. The SUCEDE application, developed entirely by the IT SD and NTT Department, has recently been put into service. It enables users to view ongoing interventions and the status of resources from any device equipped with a web browser.
District plans:
Since 2011, an IT solution called “district plans”, developed by the IT Deputy Directorate General and NT has been used.
This application integrates intervention data with digital mapping. This allows for the review of incident-related data (by district, incident type and response times, among others) and enables the creation of events requiring Civil Protection coverage to be registered, such as action plans in specific locations (metro, industrial areas etc.) which may be permanently active, while likewise activating temporary events with their corresponding intervention plan. This was successfully implemented in medical and Civil Protection coverage activities during World Youth Day in 2011.
Furthermore, the application features a GPS viewer which enables units to be viewed in real time on digital mapping, allowing for positions to be sent via the municipal TETRA communications system from the units' radio terminals.
The inclusion of an additional vehicle positioning system linked to the STE resource and incident management application enables service units to be viewed on a digital map, as well as showing their operational status and the assigned notifications. This system is supplemented by a new STE functionality which proposes the best resources to respond to a notification based on the units’ position. This has substantially improved notification allocation times and the selection of the nearest resource.
In this case, vehicle positions are sent in a similar manner as in the “district plans” application.
All of this is supplemented by the installation of a navigator equipped with a SIM card in our units so that, from the STE resource management application, activations are sent directly to the navigator, which then suggests a route to the incident to the TATS driver.
Autonomous communications system:
Given the increasing frequency of our service's deployment in aid missions both in Spain and abroad, we have developed a communications system which is ready for operation at any given moment, in any place and under any circumstances whatsoever.
It is based on a fully autonomous VHF PMR repeater powered by any type of current; 100 portable VHF radio equipment, capable of operating in simplex and semi-duplex modes; and ten radio base stations of the same system, suitable for rapid installation in any type of vehicle in order to ensure communications at ground zero and the surrounding area.
The system is supplemented by Iridium and Inmarsat satellite telephones, the number of which has been increased within the CISEM project. New INMARSAT broadband telephone terminals have been acquired for availability of email, internet access, and videoconferencing services, as well as communications with the SAMUR-Protección Civil headquarters from anywhere in the world.
This system has recently been capped off with the acquisition of three HF transmitters.
Sending SMS messages
An interesting new feature from the intervention management application is the sending of messages. When a resource activation message is sent, an SMS is simultaneously sent to the mobile phone of the person who called 112, advising the bystander that an ambulance has been dispatched.
This service will serve to reassure the user by confirming that their request is being addressed, and to enable that user to provide additional information to better resolve the situation. For example, confirmation that the address (given in the SMS) is correct or correct it if it is incorrect by calling 112 again.