Eskom Distribution, South Africa

Maintenance and repair of Eskom's huge electricity transmission network requires an efficient communications system capable of covering the vast areas supplied with electrical power, allowing for rapid deployment of repair crews when required.

Eskom has its own radio infrastructure, made up of a conventional all-informed radio network that covers all of South Africa. The network is divided into seven regions, with each region having a central control point to which all repeaters in a region are connected via various bearers.

Before the introduction of the mobile data system, all job dispatching was done via voice communications. There was no vehicle-location system in use – such a system would have allowed a service unit closest to the job-site to be dispatched.

After the system was made operational, Eskom reported that voice traffic on the radio network was drastically reduced and efficiency of job turnaround increased by some 40 percent. Misunderstandings between dispatcher and operator have also been significantly reduced thanks to text dispatching. A noticeable improvement in customer satisfaction has also been recorded.

In addition, operator security was increased by having a panic facility available should the need arise.