MOTOTRBO Powers Shop Watch Scheme for £40 Million Antonine Centre

When we found this article we were so pleased, having looked for over one year for this, discovering it on this site was an exciting time for yours truly.

Antonine Centre Chooses Customisable, Dependable, Next-Generation Communications with Increased Coverage and Enhanced Voice Clarity

The Antonine Centre in Cumbernauld, which opened in 2007 has 42 shops in 350,000 square feet of retail space and 3,000 parking spaces and is one of Scotland’s newest retail and leisure complexes. Part of an urban regeneration initiative, Antonine has been hailed by councillors as signalling the rebirth of the town Centre and has led to the creation of more than 600 jobs. Retail analyst CACI estimates that the creation of the new mall will increase spend in Cumbernauld town centre by as much as 84%.

Deterring Retail Theft with Instant, Secure, Discreet Communications

The Antonine Centre needed a reliable communications system to enable members of its shop watch scheme to alert each other and the Mall Security Officer to the presence of known criminals or troublemakers. Shopalert was created to help protect retailers against the rising cost of shoplifting by enabling stores to work together to tackle criminals.

The Antonine Centre was already using Motorola Professional Series analogue radios to streamline some of its routine, day-to-day activities. Cleaning operatives, security personnel and the managerial team were using Motorola Professional Series radios to keep in touch with colleagues throughout the 75-hour trading week.

The Centre now wanted to extend its use of Icom two way radios to build a system that could provide the most effective deterrent against groups of well-equipped, fast-moving thieves.

MOTOTRBO Offers Better Value for Money with Improved Coverage, Greater Operational Flexibility and Backwards Compatibility with Analogue
Digital two-way radio was chosen to provide a secure, discreet communication system with no risk of transmissions being compromised by eavesdroppers. The Centre’s local Motorola Authorised Dealer demonstrated how MOTOTRBO digital radios could provide greater coverage and improved audio clarity than analogue and enable users to make both one-to-one and group calls. The increased battery power would extend battery life by up to 40%, enabling the radios to be used throughout the entire 11-hour trading day without recharging.

The radios were pre-programmed to users’ needs by the Centre’s Motorola Authorized Dealer, which ensured a rapid set-up and seamless go-live. User training took only 20 minutes thanks to the cellular look and feel of the handsets. MOTOTRBO handsets cost around 10% more than analgoue, but their higher specification and wider feature set meant they could meet Antonine’s needs more effectively and offer better long-term value.

Shopalert was an immediate success, with 10 of the larger outlets, including Next, River Island, Woolworth’s, Dunnes Stores, TK Maxx, Dorothy Perkins and Birthdays, joining immediately. Each

shop has a MOTOTRBO DP 3400 hand portable that is used by managers or door security staff to alert all other scheme members and the Mall Security Officer simultaneously to troublemakers. Around 70% of all calls made are broadcast to all users but retailers can also request a one-to-one call with the Mall Security Officer if they want to discuss an incident discreetly, without alerting all users. Pushing the blue button

on the side of the radio sends a pre-determined text message to the security officer asking for a private call. The on-duty security controller carries a MOTOTRBO DP 3600, which has an alphanumeric display enabling the controller to identify the caller instantly.

Around 30% of transmissions are one-to-one and caller identification is a particularly useful feature for the Antonine Centre. Knowing who is calling

enables security staff to respond more rapidly to any situation that arises. They can also take advantage of MOTOTRBO’s interoperability between analogue and digital to ask the CCTV controller using the Motorola Professional Series radios to train cameras on any particular store or alert the police immediately if required

If an emergency situation arises, users can press the orange button located on top of the MOTOTRBO radios. This transmits their identity to the controller and all other radios which emit an audible signal to alert users. The radios can also be deactivated remotely by the controller to protect against theft and misuse. If a lost radio is subsequently found, it can be revived over the air by the controller.

Around 40 calls each day are made by the mall security officer and three or four by each Shopalert member. Most transmissions last only 10-20 seconds but some longer calls last for up to one minute. MOTOTRBO’s high-quality audio transmission virtually eliminates background noise and ensures that there are no black spots across the entire complex. Speech clarity is excellent, there are no scrambled messages, and all communications are transmitted loud and clear. The ability to transmit messages securely, knowing that there is no risk of them being intercepted, is a major advantage over analogue and of considerable benefit in the fight against crime.

The wider range of digital reduces hardware purchasing and operating costs by eliminating the need for a base station to provide coverage across the entire shopping area and its three outlying car parks. MOTOTRBO’s broad feature set means that new functionality can be added incrementally as the shopwatch scheme’s needs expand, making it a scalable, future-proofed, cost-effective solution.

Shoplifting Cut as 30% Join Shopalert Immediately and a Further 20% of Retailers Set to Join when all Outlets are Fully Operational

Shopalert has been very successful in deterring theft at the Antonine Centre where notices announcing the crime prevention initiatives in place have been displayed in every participating shop. Since going live with the MOTOTRBO radios very few instances of attempted shoplifting have been reported. The scheme is currently live in 30% of the stores that are already open, a figure that is set to increase to 50% when all outlets are fully operational. Most non-participants are either very small stores or shops that provide a service rather than sell goods, such as

hairdressers, where the risk of theft is not a significant problem.

Digital transmission prevents the risk of professional shoplifters with frequency scanners being able to eavesdrop on calls. The improved speech clarity

of digital over analogue means that messages get through first time, even against the constant

background noise of a busy mall. MOTOTRBO’s ability to enable callers to make one-to-one as well as group calls ensures that users who are not part of a call remain undisturbed.

MOTOTRBO’s interoperability between analogue and digital means that the Shopalert radios could be programmed to operate with the Motorola analogue hand portables used by cleaning staff, security

and Centre managers. MOTOTRBO will ease user migration from analogue to digital in the longer term.

Digital radio to get £21m investment

With very little information on the internet about communication device stroke’s, it is very rare when we get a chance to re post, with permission, an article from this industry.

More money is to be invested in digital radio as the industry gears up to switch off FM transmitters within the next few years.

Communications minister Ed Vaizey said up to £21m will come from the BBC, government and commercial radio.
It will be used to increase digital radio coverage so more homes can receive DAB signals.
“I absolutely believe that the future of radio in this country is digital. We cannot go backwards,” said Mr Vaizey.
The measures include plans to build a second national DAB multiplex, run by broadcasting watchdog Ofcom, which would enable the launch of new national commercial stations.

The government said it would only announce a date for a digital DP2600 2 way radio switchover when digital radio accounted for 50% of all radio listening, and when existing FM coverage has been replicated by DAB.
As of September 2013, only 35.6% of all radio listening was digital, according to RAJAR. This included 23% for DAB radio, with the rest from other digital sources such as Freeview and the internet.
“I have always said that the radio listener will lead the transition to digital,” Mr Vaizey said at the Go Digital Conference.

“We set ourselves a series of benchmarks. Listening should be at 50%. Coverage needs to be built out with firm plans in place to match FM coverage for all stations moving from analogue.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote This package of measures is intended to cement this and herald in a digital age, as and when the consumer is ready”
End Quote Ed Vaizey “We are not there yet. So now is not the time to switchover,” he added.
‘More choice’ Mr Vaizey said while progress had been made in rolling-out digital radio, the service needed to improve to enable the listener to get a “much better service” and “far more choice, with many more stations”.

Other plans announced today include government funding for Ofcom to help smaller radio stations to go digital.
“The UK is at the forefront of developments in digital radio, and we have a huge opportunity not just with the UK market but also throughout Europe,” Mr Vaizey added.
“This package of measures is intended to cement this and herald in a digital age, as and when the consumer is ready.”
An estimated 95% of cars currently still lack DAB equipment and many people are still reliant on analogue radios, with some rebelling against the FM switch-off.

A new partnership is planned between Digital Radio UK and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to give people information on upgrading their car radios to digital, and a new digital radio “tick” mark is planned so the public know what they are buying.
‘Positive step’ The government and Ofcom will also look more closely at other radio regulations to “ensure they are fit for a digital age”.
The announcements were welcomed by both the BBC and commercial radio bosses, including Bauer Media chief executive officer Paul Keenan – in charge of stations such as Magic, Key 103 and Kiss – who called it “a positive step forward for our industry”.

Ashley Tabor, the founder and president of Global – which runs the Capital and Heart branded stations around the UK- said it was “the biggest boost” to local DAB coverage in years.
“We want all our local stations to enjoy good coverage on DAB, and this will soon be a reality as a result of this agreement. The real winner here is the listener.”
Ford Ennals, chief executive officer of Digital Radio UK, also said the measures would “benefit listeners”, adding: “We look forward to the future confirmation of a switchover date which will give industry the certainty it needs.”