NSW Rural Fire Service mobile data terminal rollout begins

The NSW Rural Fire Service has fitted mobile data terminals (MDTs) to vehicles in two operational districts, a year after first anticipated.

In 2022, Fujitsu announced that it would deploy 5000 terminals under a contract worth $70 million.

The terminals will be connected to the RFS’ computer-aided dispatch system, recently updated by Fujitsu, with specialised software from the vendor and AWS-hosted software from Adashi Systems.

However, deployment has taken longer than first anticipated.

When the contract was announced in July 2022, the company expected to install the first MDTs in RFS appliances by the end of 2022.

In the service’s annual report [pdf], published in October 2023, the project was still pending.

“MDTs will be progressively rolled out across the service in late 2023, following the completion of the final elements of the software and implementation of the hardware itself into fleet cabins,” the annual report stated.

“Statewide adoption of MDTs is due to be completed in the next three years.”

An RFS spokesperson confirmed the delay to iTnews.

“The RFS experienced some delays in the implementation of the mobile data terminal (MDT) solution, with a focus on making sure it was fit-for-purpose and provided effective situational awareness and information for members responding to events,” the spokesperson told iTnews.

“We are pleased that the first two districts to receive MDTs commenced live operations during December 2023 and we continue to roll out the solution statewide.”