Hytera DMR System Enhances Disaster Response Ability in the Philippines

Background

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) is part of the Department of National Defense of the Republic of

the Philippines. It is the administrative arm of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

Council (NDRRMC). Their primary mission is to implement a comprehensive National civil defense

and disaster risk reduction and management program.

OCD leads the development of strategic and systematic approaches to civil defense and disaster risk

reduction. It deploy measures that will reduce the Country’s exposure to natural and man-made

hazards and manage the consequences of disasters when they occur thereby providing a safer and

more resilient community.

Challenge

The current OCD communication systems and radio devices were too old and could no longer satisfy
the organization’s requirements for day-to-day operations and emergency response situations. The
OCD wanted to procure modern & portable radio communication system that is easy and convenient
to use and supports the functionalities they need in providing efficient response and action at
normal times and emergency situations.
RD98XS PD98X
The OCD also wanted a solution that can be up and running within a few minutes, powered
independently, could work for several hours providing a wide range communication between users
in the affected areas. With this design, OCD staff can communicate effectively in emergency
situations in areas where there is no network coverage and limited power source, enabling them to
provide a faster, safer and more efficient response even in adverse environment conditions

Solution

Hytera was able to provide a high quality, professional DMR communication solution that met
client’s needs. At the heart of the solution are DMR RD98XS repeaters and the Hytera GTW-836C, a
mobile repeater. The GTW-836C integrates the functions of a repeater and provides a link unit
between different radio networks. It is housed in a wheeled trolley case making it easy to transport.
The GTW-836C can be set up very quickly, which means it is ideal for providing temporary
communications at large rallies, natural disasters and public safety emergency situations, as well as
providing coverage in blind spots or remote rural areas. Once the emergency situation is over, it can
be packed up ready for use next time.

OCD staff were issued with feature-rich Hytera PD98X DMR hand portable radios. The radios are IP68
certified against dust, dirt and water ingress, making them suitable for use in very harsh
environments. The PD98X offers clear and loud voice quality thanks to its output speaker and its
Hytera noise cancelling technology.
One of the key features of the PD98X is its single frequency repeater mode, which enables the radio
to act as a repeater to extend the coverage range. It works by using interference cancellation
technology to enable one slot to receive the signal and the other to transmit it at the same frequency
and at the same time in DMO mode.
Other features include a micro SD card, which can record or store critical voice calls or data and
builtin BT 4.0, which not only supports audio transmission, but also data transmissions, such as
programming via Bluetooth. The radio also supports full duplex calling with PD98X radios, fixed
telephones and mobile cell phones.

Result

OCD is using the Hytera fast-deployment digital communication solution in many different situations
to access reliable temporary communications as the need arises. The solution fulfills all the
functionalities the client required, as well as meeting its cost budget.
The client expressed high satisfaction to Hytera services, saying that Hytera’s Emergency Radio
Communications System was indeed of great help in the disaster risk reduction and management
efforts of the country. With its advanced, easily deployable and backwards compatibility technology,
the responders, command posts and emergency operations center (EOC) can communicate without
having to rely on commercial communications.