22 May 2012

Tait secures US communications deal

8:21 pm on 22 May 2012

Police and fire brigades overseeing the safety of thousands of NASCAR race fans will be using a communications system designed and built in Christchurch.

Tait Communications last year completed a $19 million contract fitting communication systems in London's red buses, and has recently signed deals in Brazil and Britain.

But the United States has been a major focus for the company. It's just secured a contract to supply a communications network to the police and fire departments of the city of Concord in North Carolina.

General manager Ian McKee says Tait's P25 digital network channels will be used for secure, encrypted voice communications between the agencies for large-scale public events like NASCAR and the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

He says Concord has a population of about 80,000 which can double during a NASCAR race.

Mr McKee says unlike New Zealand which has only one police force, there are thousands of police forces throughout the US and Tait can help them do their job better by providing reliable and robust communication systems.

Tait won't reveal the value of the contract for commercial reasons, but it's been reported the deal is worth $US60,000.