The NSW government is acquiring mobile systems to help provide wi-fi connectivity to communities cut off by natural disasters.
The kits were a commitment made by customer service minister Jihad Dib in June 2023.
Under that project, the commonwealth and NSW governments are co-funding the $3.6 million provision of community connectivity kits, that could be quickly deployed by the NSW Telco Authority to communities cut off by a natural disaster.
A tender seeks at least 20 connectivity kits operational by February 2025, with build and test to take place between August and November 2024.
What the NSW Telco Authority seeks is similar to systems like Telstra’s and Optus’s Cells on Wheels (COWs) solutions, or NBN Co’s POI-on-Wheels.
Optus in 2022 provided eight COWs to the NSW Telco Authority.
The tender seeks units that are light, compact, and rugged enough to be transported on a range of vehicles, including ATVs, boats, helicopters or commercial aircraft, and deployable by non-technical personnel.
“The user’s setup process should ideally be as simple as positioning the solution correctly and activating it via a clearly labelled switch or button,” it states.
Backup batteries should have a run time of at least four hours, and the kits should accept power from a range of sources – as well as mains power, the tender mentions generators, vehicle batteries, or solar.
LEOsat support is suggested for backhaul.
The providers may offer the kits under a subscription or a usage plan.