The National Police Agency (NPA) yesterday signed an agreement with Mercuries Data Systems Ltd to replace its two-decade-old radio systems with new terrestrial trunked (TETRA) radio systems over the next four years.
The aging system is expensive to maintain and cannot communicate across different areas, the agency said.
The decision to replace it was made to facilitate an encrypted and instantaneous communication system for police officers, the agency added.
Photo: CNA
The company on Thursday won the bid to oversee the replacement of the system, it added.
Compared with the old analog system, the digital system would provide a wider calling range and advanced encryption on a par with systems used by national security agencies, the NPA said, adding that it is also water and shockproof, and has Bluetooth capabilities.
The increased range would allow officers to contact other officers nationwide, including the outlying islands, it said.
Mercuries Data Systems is the only company in the nation that has experience in installing large-scale radio systems for contractors, having installed TETRA systems for the Taiwan Railways Administration, a P25 system for the Taipei City Police Department and a digital mobile radio system for the Freeway Bureau, the NPA said.
The upgrades are expected to prioritize Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, which use the oldest radio systems in the nation, with other counties and cities to follow over the next four years, it said.
Radio systems in Keelung, New Taipei City, Taoyuan and Hsinchu City, as well as Hsinchu and Kinmen counties, would be upgraded in the second phase, while those in Taichung, Chiayi City and Tainan, as well as Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin and Chiayi counties would be replaced in the third phase, the NPA said.
The last phase would cover Yilan, Hualien, Taitung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties, it said.
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