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NEC Australia and Stratum ICT have unveiled their Northern Territory Triple Zero contact system that allows Aboriginal communities to access recordings in their own languages.
Known as the Aboriginal Recorded Voice Announcement (RVA) system, the solution carries voice messages in 20 Aboriginal languages.
According to NEC, the line allows callers to leave a voice message that can be accessed by police anywhere in the Northern Territory, which is then handled at 64 police stations across the state in an indigenous dialect or language associated with that area.
The emergency line system was rolled out by the two parties over a 13-month period, finishing in March this year.
According to NEC, the solution also allows Aboriginal to learn about the use of different emergency service phone numbers they can access, which the company said takes the pressure off the Triple Zero system.
NEC claimed regional calls to police that were automatically directed to the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre (JESCC) through Triple Zero have now fallen fro, 4000 calls a month to 1000.
“NEC has a long and trusted relationship with NT Police, which has allowed a fruitful partnership with Stratum ICT,” NEC Australia’s NT regional manager Damien Charles.
“To be able to seek help wherever you are in the Territory, unhindered by local language barriers, is an important breakthrough in what is part of a lifesaving service - namely Triple Zero.”
Based in Melbourne, automated voice recording provider Stratum has worked with NEC for more than 20 years in the Northern Territory.
“The communications technology platform is in use by a number of NT Government agencies, and it is pleasing to see diverse uses of the system; in this case incorporating such a wide range of language options,” said Stratum MD Russell Baird.
After winning a $55 million NT contract tosupport 20,000 computing end-users, NEC won s three-year voice contract with the State Government to provide voice services, which was extended for a further two years.
Earlier this month, the Tasmanian Government also revealed it had overhauled its legacy Triple Zero telephony service, swapping Spectrum Telephony Services for NEC.
