Case Study – Public Safety PPPs

The Delivery of Emergency Service Communications Using PPP’s in Victoria – Current and Future

Who, What, Where and Why?

Who: Keith Walker

What: Contract Director Metropolitan Mobile Radio (MMR) and Contract Manager Mobile Data Network (MDN)

Where: Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA)

Why: ESTA’s key responsibilities is provision of emergency service:

• call taking and dispatch services; and

• operational communication services (via Public Private Partnership managed services).

Mobile Data Network (Soon to change)

MDN Coverage Area25,000 km2 (land 17,000 km2)

26 RF Site Private DataTAC Network

95% area / 95% Message Success Rate Mobile Coverage

Service Term 5 years with 2x2

1065 MDTs (700 Police / 365 Ambulance)

Premier MDC Client Application and Message Switch

Interfaces to CAD Dispatch for 000 Emergency Response

Interface to Police Criminal Database (LEAP), Sheriffs Office and Vicroads

Custom Built Performance Management System

Metropolitan Mobile Radio

MMR Coverage AreaCoverage Area = Same as MDN

75 RF Site Private APCO 25 Network

Motorola digital, encrypted, trunked ASTRO system

Coverage Design: 95% Area Reliability, DAQ 4.0, Outdoor Portable Coverage

Service term is 7 years plus two, $240m project (approx. value) and Service Provider Motorola Australia

10,648 mobile units, 4,119 portable units and 523 Fixed Station Terminals utilized by Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria and Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Brigade

Infrastructure

Value: MDN and MMR are anticipated to provide an approximate total of $500m service value over their contract terms (including extensions)

Outcome: Convert the provision and management of infrastructure into a services stream over the effective asset life at the end of which the asset can be returned to the government

Key Aims: Allocate risk to party best able to manage, outsource non-core functionality and smooth out financial provision of capital

Relationship

The relationship between parties is one of a long term partnership based on pre-determined roles and risk allocations.

This model has been extremely successful and is now the key method of delivery of much of Victoria’s long term capital infrastructure including roads, hospitals, water/sewerage etc.

By taking over the construction and provision government parties can focus on service levels and (ideally) maximising the value of the facility over its service life

In the case of MMR and MDN this means that instead of a range of smaller, less capable systems managed by individual users there is a single large service with considerable additional bandwidth for more services or more customers at a marginal cost

Management

Of key importance is the notion of partnership based on respective roles:

• The Service Provider who takes on the roles of building the facility, providing upfront capital and managing the stream of services;

• The State who contracts with the Service Provider and provides a Contract Manager/Director as delegated intermediary; and

• Customers who receive the service and request modifications/changes as required.

Probably the largest model of this type is the Airwave radio system in the UK with 300,000+ users

Performance

Performance on these projects has been outstanding.

As a demonstration a chart has been constructed outlining:

• Performance against the top 5 KPIs per month over 2009; where

• Only KPI’s exceeded are counted; and

• Any fault in any part of a KPI (and some can have up to 7 parts) is counted as a failure of the whole KPI; noting

• The majority of these are minor failures such as the failure of a single radio footswitch or radio taking a fraction over KPI times to repair.

2009 was selected as it was a challenging one with sites burnt out by the fires, a batch of circuit boards that needed replacing and flooding in several locations requiring replacing of equipment.

KPI Chart

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

KPI Met or Exceeded KPI Not Met

Top 5 MDN/MMR KPI

2009 a tough year!

Variations

A key part of these services, unlike many traditional PPPs is the maintenance of a robust variation program.

For both contracts this is usually 15+ variations of some $1-3m:

• MMR mostly relating to coverage and additional equipment; and

• MDN relating to database improvements, reporting improvements and increased linkage with other data facilities.

The majority of these are turned around by the Service Provider within benchmarked times.

Although the projects have delivered well on modifications the extent of modifications has been larger than either parties had anticipated.

Upgrades and Refreshes

In addition to modifications both projects have required significant technology refreshes.

Such refreshes have been able to be negotiated successfully within the project term and have been delivered at competitive pricing. For example:

– MDN is in the testing and acceptance phase of a significant upgrade to the software, rollout of a new transmission backbone and replacement of the unit fleet data terminal technology.

– MMR is rolling out upgraded coverage at key sites and has taken advantage of the size of this modification to upgrade the radio core, doubling system capacity.

Realities of PPP Architecture

• Telecommunication Architecture is bought in large injections of capital to offer economies of scale and the provision of a certain service level

– This means that additional customers can be brought on at small marginal costs until the next point capital uplift

• MDN/MMR possess considerable additional capacity that the State will try to utilise, as a result they are likely to grow across the sector.

• Neither project has reached its life of type and both can potentially run to 2014 their contract end date. Before those dates key decisions in respect of replacement, renewal and management will be made.

• These decisions will be influenced by a second generation of emergency communications policy that will outline to the sector the States medium and long term view.

• This policy will seek to engage technology vendors in providing the next generation of infrastructure, with the PPP methodology likely to be a key to that provision.

Future of PPP’s

Highly successful delivery model.

Enables creation of uniform, high quality, long term service provision.

Allows customer and State to be divorced from managing a platforms.

Concentrate on service delivery and future states.

Delivers high volume, common capital platforms facilitating shared data, minimising integration costs and enabling marginal cost entry.

Emergency ServiceConcept of Operations

GovernmentGoals

PPP DeliveryMethodology

Questions or Feedback Welcome.

Contact Details: Keith Walker

03 86561340

THANK YOU.