BroadPort consortium Taps ETELM on pan-European LTE network for PPDR

ETELM, the radio communications infrastructure specialist, has entered the second phase of its work with the BroadPort consortium in developing a pan-European interoperable mobile broadband system for Public Protection & Disaster Relief (PPDR) users.

The BroadPort consortium is among three consortia awarded the prototype project based on the successful technical concept developed in Phase 1 of BroadWay, an innovative European Pre-Commercial Procurement project.

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 that are not limited to fixed geographical borders.

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.

By developing a pan-European broadband mobile network for PPDR, public emergency and security services across Europe can achieve seamless interoperability and operational mobility. In turn, this will enable agencies to keep populations safe by allowing them to collaboratively respond to cross-border crimes, natural disasters and public safety incidents more efficiently and with the highest possible levels of continuity and security.

Nicolas Hauswald, CEO of ETELM, said: “We are truly inspired by the ambition of this great project to connect public safety organisations across the continent and create one of the world’s most advanced and secure mission-critical communications networks.

“Our experience in delivering professional radio communications infrastructure over the last 40 years has taught us that a reliable communications system is the key to handle complex transmissions and remove any barriers that could delay a response. We’re delighted to be able to contribute this expertise as part of the BroadPort team that are working towards the removal of ‘barriers’ in pan-European mission-critical communications by leading with innovation.”

He continued: “By offering greater bandwidth and flexibility when it comes to data-rich applications and video, LTE networks enable emergency services, first responders and critical national infrastructure operators to integrate data seamlessly with their voice communications.

“Our agility when responding to fast-developing emergency situations in this way can mean the difference between life and death, so this is a project of immeasurable significance. There’s a great challenge ahead, and we are looking forward to getting stuck in.”

The BroadWay solution prototypes will be tested and evaluated in Spring 2021. After which a subsequent competition will be held where two remaining consortia will be tasked with deploying final pilot systems by Spring 2022 for Phase 3 of the BroadWay project (Pilot Phase).

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, Eutelsat SA, PrioCom B.V., Telefónica I+D, T-Mobile Netherlands B.V., and Virtual Fort Knox AG.