Enquire Now
Brentwood Communications has been contracted to supply two way radios to Europe’s most exciting transport infrastructure project – the High Speed 2 railway, better known as HS2.
HS2 is a brand new state-of-the-art rail link which in the first instance will connect London to Birmingham, and from there to Manchester and Leeds. We were contacted by the main contractors leading the project – Skanska Costain Strabag JV – and asked to quote for initially providing two way radios for six sites around London.
The contracting firms had previously been hiring two way radios from a large commercial equipment hire firm, but found the service very expensive, especially as they increased the number of radios required. What they wanted to know was if we would be able to provide top-end digital handsets in bulk quantities at a considerable saving to what they were currently paying.
Gaining purchase
Brentwood Communications both hires out and sells two way radio equipment, and we often promote our hire radios as a cost-saving alternative to purchasing. However, there is a careful balance to be struck, as once the length of hire reaches a certain point, it becomes less economical than buying the handsets outright.
Given the scale of the HS2 project, we recommended that the main works contractors could save money over the duration by purchasing their two way radios. While the requirements to have radios in any given location would change as construction of the main line progressed and moved, we advised that radios could easily be repurposed to new locations by changing the licence.
And while the initial requirement was to supply two way radios for six sites around London, we offered to align all three regions of the project into a single procurement channel, demonstrating a clear cost benefit based on the scale of the requirements. As such, we are now in a position to supply two way radio to the entire project for sites throughout the country.
For the initial purchase, we have so far supplied 188 Motorola DP4400e and DP4800e handsets. These are on Simple UK single site licenses and have been provisioned ‘back-to-back’, i.e. with no extra equipment to extend signal range or to link multiple site networks together. But this is something we will be able to review and change as the project develops.
The Motorola DP4400e and DP4800e are premium digital models, part of Motorola’s cutting edge E-Series and market leaders in two way radio digital technology. The DP4400e is a classic non display push-to-talk handset but packed with advanced digital features such as multi constellation sat nav tracking (GPS and GLONASS), Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, intelligent audio and advanced noise cancellation, and on-site safety features like Lone Worker monitoring and Emergency Button.
The DP4800e is the full screen, full keypad cousin of the DP4400e. It benefits from the same advanced features, but with work order ticket support, text messaging and telephone integration, it is ideal for site supervisors and managers to help with works coordination.
Looking to cut costs or make efficiency gains from your communications solution? With more than 40 years’ experience, Brentwood Communications is the UK’s go-to supplier of two way radio for industry. Whatever your sector, big or small, get in touch with our friendly team on 01245 403520 to find out how we can help you.