Kasim Sumaina in Abuja
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) yesterday in Abuja unveiled the first phase of 160 high-tech digital radios to facilitate more effective communications among its team of players.
The agency noted that the four categories of radios acquired-PNC370, PNC380, PNC550 and PDC550-are to create better interface between its operational and tactical actors.
The Director-General of NEMA, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, in his remarks at the launch, said: “This is the first phase; as we continue with other phases, you will get to know them. The idea is to cover all our offices and from these 160, we will deploy to all our offices and as more as the items come, more of those radios will get to them and overtime, stakeholders are likely to also be plugged into this arrangement.”
Ahmed explained that the radios are multi-mode handheld devices capable of working as two way radio on UHF frequencies (400-470MHz) or on cellular LTE. “They are rugged, compact in design and IP68 rated,” he added.
He maintained that risk communication shapes people’s perceptions of risk and influences their actions with respect to disaster preparedness and response, and “this imperative inform the recent decision to radicalise service delivery through new ways and manners between field commanders and the agency headquarters elements in tandem with international best practices of incident command systems.”
According to him, “This morning, it is with great pleasure that I unveil NEMA’s new strategic communications frameworks; the Digital Push-to-Talk over Cellular (PoC) and broadband communication infrastructure-the Hytera devices.
“As military standard MIL-STS-810G, they are drop proof and suitable for use in even the harshest of environments. The radios will facilitate rapid deployment during emergencies through the digital wireless ad-hoc repeaters. The location display would also ensure easy command and control, which makes it extremely useful for on-site operations.
“The radios’ live video streams, audio communication and ability to send and receive texts as well as installed GPS for fast tracking and retrieval in the event of loss is an added leverage to the agency.”
He, however, said: “I strongly believe that the Hytera radios will bring greater visibility to NEMA activities across Nigeria, fast-track the mobility of workforces and facilitate better integration of the headquarters with the zonal, territorial and operational offices of the agency.”
