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.
The role of traditional radios in healthcare settings during the Coronavirus Pandemic
The role of traditional radios in healthcare settings during the Coronavirus Pandemic
By Paul Ward, International Sales Director at Etelm
It is easy to assume that emergency scenarios demand the very latest, next-generation technology. But the reality can be a little more complex.
Reliable communications between medical practitioners in hospitals and healthcare settings are clearly absolutely critical – a matter of life and death. Doctors may need to be summoned within seconds in order to respond to an emergency scenario. The unfolding coronavirus pandemic has brought this into sharper focus than ever before.
In turn, it is natural to assume that the most suitable devices for enabling such communication are medical practitioners’ own smartphones. After all, they are familiar, powerful and they can enable data-rich and visual or video communications, as well as voice and text.
However, mobile phones do have some shortcomings in healthcare and emergency settings, particularly at a time of crisis such as the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some of the reasons why.
Ease of use
We have all become familiar with the comprehensive personal protective equipment (PPE) which healthcare workers are (meant to) be equipped with in order to keep themselves and their patients safe. This includes, of course, gloves – which may cause some problems when it comes to using smartphones, as anyone who has tried to use one whilst wearing a regular pair of gloves will know. Wearing face masks and visors has also raised particular concerns relating to suitability of traditional headsets and microphones in the critical care and emergency setting too. Mission Critical systems are purpose designed to overcome the practical difficulties in various extreme environments by working closely with users to adapt accessories such as PTT & headset accessories so that they are more suitable for each environment.
Counterintuitive as it may seem, traditional radio devices, rather like walkie talkies, are actually easier to use – and to use accurately – whilst wearing PPE.
Hygiene
Super-strict hygiene practices are clearly another critical aspect of keeping staff and patients safe throughout the pandemic, and this means taking a strict approach to any equipment which travels with healthcare practitioners onto wards and other areas where patients are treated. But keeping a smartphone clean and sterile might prove more challenging – after all, they are not necessarily built to resist the chemicals and cleaning processes which hardware designed for healthcare settings can withstand. The risks for healthcare workers using personal devices at work and then taking them home is clearly a major concern.
Coverage and reliability
Mobile operators may be proud of their nationwide coverage outside, but inside can be a different matter. Hospitals are typically sprawling buildings, often including a mix of building materials and even unusually robust walls to, for example, create restricted or extra-secure areas. In turn, this means that patchy coverage and dead zones are a reality in most healthcare settings, both in terms of cellular mobile and WiFi networks. And this means that relying solely on public networks to get healthcare practitioners to emergency scenarios within minutes could have major reliability issues.
Once again, traditional radio devices using communications networks such as TETRA can actually be more reliable and offer more comprehensive coverage than their newer counterparts.
Flexible Group Communications
The erratic shift patterns and extreme working conditions for staff wearing PPE means that communication has been particularly difficult during this pandemic. The ability to create fast, efficient groups dynamically for each incident or critical response is clearly more essential than ever. A dedicated, private communication system allows for this flexibility and can be designed to ensure that fast, effective team communication is available on demand.
Interference
A related issue is the potential for mobile cellular networks to interfere with hospital equipment, particularly as more and more connected devices are installed in hospitals. In February 2019, it was reported that Health Secretary Matt Hancock wanted the NHS to phase out its ‘outdated’ pagers, with the organisation still using about 130,000 of the devices, or a massive 10% of the total number of the pagers left in use globally. In response, many from within the NHS reported fears that mobile phones could interfere with hospital equipment. Once again, traditional radio technologies such as TETRA can offer a more standalone approach to in-hospital communications, which does not risk disrupting other equipment. This, clearly, is particularly important during times of crisis.
All this means that, contrary to what you might expect, core classic handheld radio terminals – rather like traditional walkie talkies – have a crucial role to play in keeping healthcare settings connected – throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
