City of Antwerp Port Upgrades Dispatch to RediTALK-Flex

In 2016 the City of Antwerp took over management of the waters on the Eilandje – Antwerp’s oldest port area – from the Antwerp Port Authority. The area around Bonapartedok, Willemdok, Kempisch Dock, Kattendijkdok, Houtdok and Asiadok therefore form an urban area and thus fall under the authority of the City of Antwerp for berth management, safety and the policing.

This historic port has evolved into a modern attraction for passenger ships and offers berths for house boats and pleasure craft in the center of Antwerp.

This new responsibility forced the city to invest in radio equipment for maritime communication for the city’s port service, supplemented with maritime radios for operational personnel.

Quality and reliability were the most crucial aspects, so they selected Omnitronics partner Sonal to implement the project in 2016. Sonal chose Omnitronics IPR400 Gateways and RediTALK Dispatch to complement desired base stations and mobile radios.

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Customer Profile

City of Antwerp Port

Application

Radio Communications Across 3 Maritime Channels

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Products Used

– RediTALK-Flex Dispatch Consoles
– IPR400 RoIP Gateways

Business Benefits

A Seamless Transition

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Simple to Deploy

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Compatible with Multiple Radio Types

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Simple to Operate

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Minimal Operator Training

The Challenge

Upgrade Required

In 2020, 4 years after the initial install, the City of Antwerp is looking to upgrade PCs used for port dispatch.

Their RediTALK dispatch system is also at end of life and no longer supported. They were again looking for a dispatch solution that works without a central server and seamlessly integrates with existing infrastrusture, including Radio over IP gateways.

In addition, they were looking for a solution that is compatible with the Windows 10 operating system and that allows them to include an AIS Receiver to display ship positioning on a large screen.

Product Focus

RediTALK-Flex

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Interoperability

Connect technologies, protocols & vendors

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Easy to Use

Clean & customizable user interface

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Flexibility

Use the power of IP to connect & unify anywhere

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Duress & Emergency

See who calls where and when

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Geofencing

Easily set up zones & alerts to monitor movements

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Radio Linking / Patching

Connect groups of radios in real time

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Telephony

Receive, make calls & patch to radios

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Location Services

Advanced people & asset tracking

More Features

The Solution

Future-Proof

Based on Sonal’s recommendation, the City decided that integrating Omnitronics IPR400 S2 Radio over IP gateways to Radio Activity Kairos KA-160 repeaters would be the ideal solution to manage communications across the their maritime channels.

An antenna combining system is used to connect multiple maritime channels and the AIS receiver onto one antenna. Three RediTALK-Flex Dispatch stations, one for the main operator and one for a second operator, manage the city’s port radio communications.

A spare RediTALK-Flex licence is available as backup in case a situation arises where a dispatcher needs to work away from the control room on a remote laptop or tablet.

For the unlikely event that the city should need support, 24/7/365 omnicare Support and Maintenance is available.

Case Study