http://www.news.com.au/news_content/state_content/4349918.htm

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Glitch silences police radios By ELLEN WHINNETT 31dec99

A GLITCH in Hydro's microwave link crippled Tasmania Police's $6 million digital radio network yesterday.

Police radios from Deloraine to Smithton went dead, with the trouble lasting most of the day.

The glitch is believed to have started when the Hydro shut down the microwave link for maintenance about 10.30am.

The shutdown was to have lasted only seconds.

Police were forced to rely on their old, back-up analogue radios, hand-held radios and mobile phones.

The hi-tech digital police radio system, the first of its kind in Australia, is supplied by communications company Ericsson.

Deputy Commissioner Jack Johnston was critical of the glitch, saying he was "disappointed at the failure and the time taken to restore full service".

"We are having ongoing discussions with Ericsson to prevent any repeat," he said.

"We will also explore other contractual issues relating to the provision of reliable and uninterrupted service for the safety of our members and the community."

Hydro operational services manager Barry Willing last night said the Hydro also was extremely disappointed at the delays to the police radio.

"We planned a short outage that lasted a few seconds and we believed everything was okay," Mr Willing said.

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-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), December 30, 1999