Macarthur has just become a little bit safer thanks to the installation of two new radio sites in the region. Radio infrastructure has been installed at Ingleburn and Yanderra as part of the NSW Government’s expansion to the Public Safety Network’s footprint for emergency service organisations. The NSW Telco Authority delivered 150 new sites, including those in Ingleburn and Yanderra in May and June, to increase operational and mission-critical communications coverage for first responders. The NSW Government describes the PSN as the ‘most critical communications network in NSW’ next to the triple zero emergency hotline. The radio infrastructure provides enhanced encryption options for first repsonders, allowing crews to communicate on a single, integrated network. NSW Telco Authority acting managing director Kristie Clarke said delivering 150 new sites was an important milestone in community and first responder safety. “This significant achievement brings us closer to delivering the NSW Government’s commitment to build a single, integrated radio network to enhance critical communications coverage for the state’s emergency services,” Ms Clarke said. “This is technology that saves lives. The PSN will consolidate multiple separate agency radio networks into one network, allowing critical communications to occur across a resilient and efficient network. “From the Tweed to Bega and west to Broken Hill, we are investing in first-class communications infrastructure to protect people and places.” Ms Clarke said the PSN’s sites were crucial in protecting communities and supporting the Rural Fire Service, Police, Fire and Rescue, Ambulance, and the State Emergency Service during the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires and March 2021 floods. “Through the Critical Communications Enhancement Program (CCEP), the NSW Government is investing more than $1.3 billion in critical communications, the biggest infrastructure investment of its kind in a generation,” Ms Clarke said. The CCEP has expanded the PSN’s land coverage by 10 per cent to reach over 41 per cent of the state, the equivalent of more than 80,000 kilometres. Population coverage has risen from 86 per cent to 94 per cent, an increase of over 600,000 people.