Hato Hone St John (HHStJ) and Tait Communications have successfully completed the installation of new radio equipment across the HHStJ ambulance and response vehicle fleet, marking a major milestone in preparations for the upcoming Public Safety Network (PSN) Land Mobile Radio (LMR) rollout.

In just over a year, Tait Communications, on behalf of Tait Systems NZ, installed 770 radios in HHStJ vehicles, with the final unit fitted last Friday in Rotorua.

“This is a huge milestone in the Land Mobile Radio network build,” said Steve Ferguson, NGCC Lead Entity Director.

The installation programme has been a large-scale collaborative effort, involving more than 100 staff from 14 Tait service providers and partners, contributing over 9,000 hours of work. HHStJ itself dedicated thousands of hours to planning, coordination, support, and rigorous quality checks for every radio installed.

“It’s been a massive logistical achievement from everyone involved—particularly Hato Hone St John, who maintained uninterrupted service to the New Zealand public throughout the installation period,” Mr. Ferguson added. “The new Land Mobile Radio network is now well and truly in sight.”

Across the Public Safety Network agencies—Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Police, Hato Hone St John, and Wellington Free Ambulance—more than 7,000 vehicle radios, 1,300 building radios, and approximately 30,000 portable radios will be deployed to ensure frontline responders are ready when the new LMR network goes live.

HHStJ is the first of the four emergency services to complete vehicle installations. Work is progressing at pace for Police and Fire and Emergency NZ, while Wellington Free Ambulance is currently trialling new equipment in four vehicles ahead of full fleet installations commencing in 2026.