Tait Radio Communications
Encyclopedia
Tait Radio Communications is a multinational radio communications company with headquarters based in Christchurch
, New Zealand
. The company has offices in 17 countries and employs 869 staff (2011). Tait develops voice and data radio technologies, exporting about 95% of products from its Christchurch
manufacturing base. Competitors include Motorola
, Harris Corporation
, E.F. Johnson Company, Raytheon
, HYT, and Selex. Customers include London Buses
, Country Fire Authority
and Basin Electric Power Cooperative
.
electronics innovator and businessman Sir Angus Tait
, KNZM, OBE. The company's founding staff of 12 radio technologists produced the first generation of all-transistor
mobile radio
s in New Zealand
.
(founder) established a trust structure for the company to be held in. The company is owned by three trusts: the Contel Charitable Trust, The Tait Foundation, and the Lady Tait Charitable Trust. Tait is financially independent and audited annually by PricewaterhouseCoopers
.
and China
are Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) compliant. Tait’s factory material supply chain is also compliant with RoHS requirements.
The company is compliant with Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations.
Tait partners with the following associations and groups in their industry:
Radio Fidelity – The Story of Angus Tait
and an Industry Sparked by Loyalty, by Virginia Green. ISBN 978-0476015081
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The company has offices in 17 countries and employs 869 staff (2011). Tait develops voice and data radio technologies, exporting about 95% of products from its Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
manufacturing base. Competitors include Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
, Harris Corporation
Harris Corporation
Harris Corporation is a Florida-based international communications equipment company that produces wireless equipment, electronic systems, and both terrestrial and spaceborne antennas for use in the government, defense, and commercial sectors. It is also the largest private-sector employer in...
, E.F. Johnson Company, Raytheon
Raytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
, HYT, and Selex. Customers include London Buses
London Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...
, Country Fire Authority
Country Fire Authority
Country Fire Authority, or CFA, is the name of the fire service that provides firefighting and other emergency services to all of the country areas and regional townships within the state of Victoria, Australia, as well as large portions of the outer suburban areas and growth corridors of Melbourne...
and Basin Electric Power Cooperative
Basin Electric Power Cooperative
Basin Electric Power Cooperative is a wholesale electric generation and transmission cooperative based in North Dakota that provides electricity to 2.8 million customers in nine U.S. states. The roots of the cooperative go back to 1960 when Leland Olds and ten power suppliers created Giant Power...
.
History
Tait Electronics Ltd (trading as Tait Radio Communications) was founded in 1969 by New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
electronics innovator and businessman Sir Angus Tait
Angus Tait
Sir Angus Tait, KNZM, OBE was a New Zealand electronics innovator and businessman.Angus Tait had a childhood fascination for electronics and during and after high school at Waitaki Boys' High School, he worked in a friend's radio store...
, KNZM, OBE. The company's founding staff of 12 radio technologists produced the first generation of all-transistor
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
mobile radio
Mobile Radio
This article is about professional equipment. For mobile radios used in amateur radio, see amateur radio mobile operation. Mobile radio or mobiles refer to wireless communications systems and devices which are based on radio frequencies, and where the path of communications is movable on either...
s in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
- In 1973, Tait released the Mini-phone series of mobile radiosMobile RadioThis article is about professional equipment. For mobile radios used in amateur radio, see amateur radio mobile operation. Mobile radio or mobiles refer to wireless communications systems and devices which are based on radio frequencies, and where the path of communications is movable on either...
, which were adopted as the industry standard in New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
- In 1979, Tait launched a range of portable radios and base stations, exporting over 25% of its production. The first wholly owned subsidiary was opened in HuntingdonHuntingdonHuntingdon is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It is the traditional county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council. It is known as the birthplace in 1599 of Oliver Cromwell.-History:Huntingdon...
, UK.
- In 1982, Tait opened facilities in Houston, USA.
- In 1988, Tait opened facilities in BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
- In the mid-1980s Tait moved into developing trunkingTrunkingIn modern communications, trunking is a concept by which a communications system can provide network access to many clients by sharing a set of lines or frequencies instead of providing them individually. This is analogous to the structure of a tree with one trunk and many branches. Examples of...
technology. Substantial investment followed in a broad range of trunkedTrunked radio systemA trunked radio system is a complex type of computer-controlled radio system. Trunked systems use a few channels , and can have virtually unlimited talkgroups. The control channel computer sends packets of data to enable one talkgroup to talk together, regardless of frequency...
products and TaitNet systems based on the open MPT 1327 standard.
- In 1990, the T800 series of modular base stationBase stationThe term base station can be used in the context of land surveying and wireless communications.- Land surveying :In the context of external land surveying, a base station is a GPS receiver at an accurately-known fixed location which is used to derive correction information for nearby portable GPS...
and repeater equipment was on the market. The T700 series also appeared.
- In 1992, the T2000 series of mobile radioMobile RadioThis article is about professional equipment. For mobile radios used in amateur radio, see amateur radio mobile operation. Mobile radio or mobiles refer to wireless communications systems and devices which are based on radio frequencies, and where the path of communications is movable on either...
s was released.
- In 1993, additional offshore subsidiaries were opened and the T3000 series of hand-portables and the Quasi-Sync base station/repeater systems were introduced.
- In 1994, the first in a series of mobile data despatch products for use with the T2000 radios was launched.
- In 1996, the T3000 Series II, an enhanced version of the portable series, went to market.
- In 1997, Tait's T2000 range was updated with the launch of the T2000 Series II.
- In 1998, Tait released the Orca series of portable radios. Additional base-station and system enhancements followed, including the T1810 single-site trunkedTrunked radio systemA trunked radio system is a complex type of computer-controlled radio system. Trunked systems use a few channels , and can have virtually unlimited talkgroups. The control channel computer sends packets of data to enable one talkgroup to talk together, regardless of frequency...
channel controller, before the release of Tait's portable radio range, the Tait Orca 5000.
- In 2003, the release of the 8000 tier of base stations and mobiles replaced the T800 base station and T2000 mobile.
- In May 2005, Tait launched P25P25Project 25 is a suite of standards for digital radio communications for use by federal, state/province and local public safety agencies in North America to enable them to communicate with other agencies and mutual aid response teams in emergencies...
(Project 25) products based on open standards and open interfaces.
- In 2008, the TP8100 replaced the Orca portable radio.
- In 2010, Tait opened facilities in ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
- In 2011, Tait opened facilities in MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and expanded in BeijingBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Technologies and solutions
- P25P25Project 25 is a suite of standards for digital radio communications for use by federal, state/province and local public safety agencies in North America to enable them to communicate with other agencies and mutual aid response teams in emergencies...
(Project 25) - DMR (Digital Mobile RadioDigital Mobile RadioDigital mobile radio is an open digital radio standard for professional mobile radio users specified in the European Telecommunications Standards Institute Standards TS 102 361 parts 1 to 4 and used in products sold in all regions of the world. The applicable ETSI compliance standards are EN 300...
) - MPT 1327
- MPT-IP
- Distribution Automation
- Network ManagementNetwork managementNetwork management refers to the activities, methods, procedures, and tools that pertain to the operation, administration, maintenance, and provisioning of networked systems....
CEO
Frank Owen is the current CEO of Tait Radio Communications. Owen’s tenure at Tait began in March 2009. Previously he was the CEO at privately owned Australian company GPC Electronics.Structure
Sir Angus TaitAngus Tait
Sir Angus Tait, KNZM, OBE was a New Zealand electronics innovator and businessman.Angus Tait had a childhood fascination for electronics and during and after high school at Waitaki Boys' High School, he worked in a friend's radio store...
(founder) established a trust structure for the company to be held in. The company is owned by three trusts: the Contel Charitable Trust, The Tait Foundation, and the Lady Tait Charitable Trust. Tait is financially independent and audited annually by PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest professional services firm measured by revenues and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms....
.
Quality and environmental ratings
Tait is ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 accredited and all shipments from the Tait manufacturing facility into the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
are Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) compliant. Tait’s factory material supply chain is also compliant with RoHS requirements.
The company is compliant with Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations.
Corporate recognition
Tait Radio Communications has received the following awards:- Prince Philip Designers PrizePrince Philip Designers PrizeThe Prince Philip Designers Prize is an annual design recognition given by the Design Council and awarded by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who also chairs the judging panel. It is the longest running design award in the United Kingdom, having been started in 1959 as the Prize for Elegant Design...
for T500 (1985) - NZ Industrial Design Council Design Award (1985)
- NEDA Award for Excellence in Electronic Design and Manufacture (1986)
- Governor General’s Supreme Award for Exporting (1986, 1994)
- Air New Zealand Award for Overall Excellence in Exporting (1994)
- Canterbury Champion Supreme Award (2003)
Tait partners with the following associations and groups in their industry:
- Funding and oversight of globally acclaimed Wireless Research Centre, located at the NZi3NZi3The NZi3 Innovation Institute is a partnership between the New Zealand government and the University of Canterbury. It was formed in 2006 to commercialise the University's IT research and to develop high-tech industry in Canterbury...
Innovation Institute, University of CanterburyUniversity of CanterburyThe University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...
, ChristchurchChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... - Founding member of the DMRDigital Mobile RadioDigital mobile radio is an open digital radio standard for professional mobile radio users specified in the European Telecommunications Standards Institute Standards TS 102 361 parts 1 to 4 and used in products sold in all regions of the world. The applicable ETSI compliance standards are EN 300...
Association - Member of International Association of Public Transport
- Associate Member of the Utilities Telecom Council
Offices by location
- Asia Pacific – BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... - AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
– ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre... - New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
– ChristchurchChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of... - UK – HuntingdonHuntingdonHuntingdon is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It is the traditional county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council. It is known as the birthplace in 1599 of Oliver Cromwell.-History:Huntingdon...
- USA – Houston
Further reading
The Best is Yet to Come, Tait Radio Communications, by Dave Wilson, et al, 2004Radio Fidelity – The Story of Angus Tait
Angus Tait
Sir Angus Tait, KNZM, OBE was a New Zealand electronics innovator and businessman.Angus Tait had a childhood fascination for electronics and during and after high school at Waitaki Boys' High School, he worked in a friend's radio store...
and an Industry Sparked by Loyalty, by Virginia Green. ISBN 978-0476015081
External links
Official site for Tait Radio Communications- Tait Public Safety mini-site
- Tait Utilities mini-site
- Tait Public Transport mini-site