ETELM begins work on final phase of European Union-commissioned
BroadWay pilot
Frequentis-led consortium down to the final two in developing interoperable Public Protection & Disaster Relief (PPDR) mobile broadband system
October 2021: ETELM, the radio communications infrastructure specialist, has entered the third and final phase of its work with the BroadPort consortium to develop a pan-European interoperable mobile broadband system for Public Protection & Disaster Relief (PPDR) users.
Having successfully completed the Prototype Phase, ETELM is part of the Frequentis-led consortium that is among just two consortia left in this European Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) Project, BroadWay. They have now been invited to move onto the next phase, which will be to develop the prototype solution into a live, useable pilot system.
The BroadWay initiative was created by the public safety agencies from 11 European countries and is operating under the framework of Horizon 2020, a flagship EU research and innovation programme. Collectively, these agencies provide mobile communication services to around 1.4 million responders and deal with an array of crimes and disasters throughout the continent.
Where currently each country possesses its own separate system to handle mission-critical communications, the objective of BroadWay is to develop a unified solution that will allow European first responders to communicate, share and access information regardless of the country in which they intervene. This will provide operational mobility for public safety responders across Europe by linking national mission-critical mobile broadband networks to act as one.
Now at its pilot stage, the consortium is required to develop a solution that reaches Technology Readiness Level 8, a system originally developed by NASA to provide uniformity of technical maturity across different technologies. Level 8 will require a complete and fully operational system that achieves the best possible performance across each of the project’s 11 objectives.
A primary goal will be to ensure that the pilot system succeeds in being interconnected and provided as-a-service to offer the widest operational mobility. In particular, it must provide secure operational and EU interoperable communication for law enforcement agencies and other PPDR practitioners so that they are able to protect and respond in cross-border cooperation. Operational mobility of this standard will allow practitioners to operate wherever they are, whenever they need to, and with whomever they are tasked to cooperate.
Nicolas Hauswald, CEO at ETELM, said: “The impact of this innovation-led project will be felt by all police, firefighters and other emergency units when dealing with any cross-border incident or disaster as it unfolds. It will also become an essential tool in managing public safety, enabling enhanced security and more effective emergency responses.
“ETELM has been developing professional radio communications infrastructure for over 40 years, working with critical communications organisations around the globe, and we are very proud to bring our expertise to this important project.
“The demands of critical communications require not only robust and reliable solutions that can operate in any situation, no matter the environment, but also the capacity to transmit increasingly rich data without delay. Add to this the need to seamlessly integrate across numerous different jurisdictions and our challenge here is to demonstrate a single, future-proofed system that will enable emergency services, first responders and critical national infrastructure operators across Europe to complete their essential duties not only unhindered but also significantly enhanced by the technology that we are developing. It’s an exciting prospect, and we are fully committed to its success.”
The BroadWay Pilot Phase (Phase 3) begins in October 2021 and will last until September 2022.
The full BroadPort consortium, led by Frequentis, consists of the following partners: ETELM, Crosscall, Halys, Municipality of Málaga, Nemergent Solutions SL, and Universidad de Málaga. The subcontractors are: Arico Technologies, Control Center Apps GmbH, Comfone, Eutelsat SA, Lyfo, PrioCom B.V., Telefónica I+D, T-Mobile Netherlands B.V., and Virtual Fort Knox AG.
‘Pop-Up Communications’: Applications for temporary LTE networks
‘Pop-Up Communications’: Applications for temporary LTE networks
Earlier this summer, we announced we had been working with the Fire Department of Indre in France to test a ‘pop-up’ LTE communications network that was capable of being assembled and ready to use in under 20 minutes. This meant firefighters would be able to access reliable broadband services in remote areas where existing network coverage was unavailable.
To form the basis of this network we equipped a command vehicle with an antenna, an LTE eNodeB (manufactured by ETELM), a Halys LTE EPC core and the Streamwide application to reproduce all the critical communication requirements (including emergency calls and broadcasting), geolocation services, and casualty reporting capabilities.
Each individual using the network was given modern ruggedized smartphones and video sensors (manufactured by 4G Technology) were deployed, which were either fixed or attached to helmets. In the command vehicle the team had access to the geolocation of each firefighter and could manage all the group and individual calls as well as all video broadcasting.
The technology also provided a satellite link so that staff on the ground could easily connect to a central communication system if needed. The tests demonstrated that private LTE communications can be quickly established for emergency situations outside of typical network coverage. But what other applications could this technology have?
Events
If you are having an event that takes place outside, or just outside the reach of your existing communications network, a pop-up network will provide secure communications infrastructure that your staff can rely on for the duration of the event.
It is important to have a reliable and secure communications network for any event with public attendance. This is for security purposes and will allow you to quickly and safely deal with any emergencies that may arise, connecting emergency service members with event organisers.
Maintenance Projects
If your company is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of any large-scale pieces of infrastructure you will often be required to carry out specific repair projects in locations outside of typical network coverage. For a large project that involves a number of operatives working in an unfamiliar location in potentially hazardous conditions a dedicated, private and secure communications network can make all the difference.
If your workers are carrying out repairs to damaged areas that are still degrading, the speed that this network can be implemented could help you fix the problem faster and more efficiently than would otherwise be possible.
About Etelm’s eNodeB
Our eNodeB was designed to ensure high quality communications in tactical situations. It complies fully with 3GPP Standards and operates in many different frequency bands (both TDD and FDD), and is fully designed and manufactured by ETELM. eNodeB can also be optimised for your organisation’s individual needs.
If you are interested in learning more about this type of network get in touch today.
