All three main emergency services will now use the O2
Airwave mobile wireless network to support their staff
communications.
O2 has won a multi-million pound deal with the Fire and Rescue
Service (FRS) to provide a new voice and data communications
system.
As well as providing encrypted communications and national
roaming, the O2 system provides fire crews with separate mobile
channels for emergency access, so if commercial mobile networks go
down their communications will still get through.
The new FRS Firelink network is also designed to improve the
quality of voice calls. The roll-out of the new system will begin
next year and is set to be completed by 2009.
The O2 fire deal follows the contract won by the company to
supply a communications system to the ambulance service earlier
this year. The UK’s police forces also finished the roll-out of a
£3bn O2 Airwave roll-out, this year – by far the largest of the
three emergency services contracts won by O2.
All three systems for the emergency services will be integrated
by O2 to ensure interoperability between networks and equipment
during incidents.
Other government customers using Airwave include the Ministry of
Defence and the Highways Agency.