Surrey Search & Rescue taps Ericsson and UK Connect for critical connectivity

With more than 2,000 people going missing in Surrey each year and resources being deployed on average once per week, comms technology is critical to the county’s search and rescue team as it assists the emergency services to find missing vulnerable adults and children. To improve its effectiveness, Surrey Search and Rescue (Surrey SAR) has deployed comms technology from Ericsson through UK Connect’s SARNET (Search & Rescue Network).

Surrey SAR is a voluntary specialist search team that is on call 24 hours a day, with a team of over 80 people and search dogs, to respond across the county and surrounding areas as quickly as possible and minimise the time a person is at risk. Around 2,100 people go missing in Surrey every year.

The association is an official member of the UK’s Lowland Rescue provision, with the same role as Mountain Rescue, Coastguard Rescue and the RNLI, among others. It also works closely with neighbouring search and rescue teams and national associations.

Agents are trained to find and give first aid to lost, missing or vulnerable people and evacuate them to safety. It operates in woodland, farmland, urban environments and around water when the emergency services need its specialist skills.

Deploying in such varied and often challenging locations, the Surrey SAR team needed a robust connectivity solution to support its work in any weather conditions and anywhere in the county. Previously hindered by unreliable connectivity, Surrey SAR search teams often relied on paper maps or slower manual coordination when digital tools were unavailable.

With the introduction of Ericsson’s R2100 vehicle router, Surrey SAR teams now enjoy “instant” connectivity, enabling the use of drones, smart mapping technology and secure communication with other emergency response teams.

The always-on R2100 in-vehicle router has a dual-SIM modem design to allow connectivity to switch between cellular providers or fallback to satellite networks if needed when teams operate in difficult or remote locations, ensuring search teams remain connected at all times. Ericsson says this allows rescue teams to respond faster, communicate more effectively with other emergency responders, and take advantage of new technology like drones in life-critical situations, leading to a better outcome for missing people. 

Ericsson provides advanced hybrid WAN connectivity solutions for Surrey SAR, helping improve response times and survival outcomes. The deployment is part of a partnership between Ericsson and UK Connect to provide advanced connectivity solutions.

UK Connect’s SARNET initiative combines cellular connectivity and IT technology, reducing response times by up to an hour and improving survival outcomes. The motivation for SARNET emerged from UK Connect’s experience with defence organisations. UK Connect and Ericsson adapted and tested technologies to improve the speed and efficiency of locating missing persons.

“We’ve seen the impact of advanced connectivity in defence, where rapid decision-making and real-time intelligence are critical,” remarked PJ Farr, CEO of UK Connect and Surrey Search & Rescue team member. “Applying this same technology to search and rescue means we can locate missing people faster, improve coordination with emergency services, and ultimately save lives.”

Ericsson senior partner manager Mo Taufiq added: “Search and rescue teams operate in extreme conditions and terrains, where every second counts. Advanced technology like drones and intelligent mapping are crucial tools in this race, enabling responders to search a wider area in a shorter amount of time. To operate effectively, they need reliable, high-speed connectivity.

“By integrating our advanced vehicle-based connectivity with UK Connect’s expertise in systems integration and Panasonic’s Toughbook 33, we are ensuring that first responders have the technology they need to act quickly and effectively in life-or-death situations.”