A problem shared is a
problem halved
Simon Creasey hears from a number of public safety network operators with
a focus on their current challenges, including the transition to mission-critical
broadband, planning for 5G and cyber security
In March the inaugural meeting of the International
Governmental Operators’ Forum (IGOF) took place. e
meeting, which was attended by representatives from 19
public administrations of 17 countries around the world,
discussed a wide range of topics that are having an impact
on the critical communications community.
e highest priority identied was ‘security in broadband
environments’, with a particular focus on hybrid networks
and devices as well as cyber threats. Another key area
identied was the impact of future technologies, such as
articial intelligence and 5G network slicing, on the sector.
I caught up with representatives from public safety
organisations from around the world to nd out what
challenges these specic issues present for the individuals
tasked with overseeing critical communications networks.
At the moment a number of large-scale critical
communication infrastructure projects are taking place
around the globe, with many countries upgrading existing
TETRA systems or moving towards mission-critical
broadband. Each of these projects throws up a signicant
series of hurdles that need to be overcome.
Take the example of Germany. e German Federal
Agency for Public Safety Digital Radio (BDBOS) is in the
midst of commencing a major modernisation project that
will take it “two phases” towards mission-critical broadband,
according to Dr Barbara Held, its head of directorate, strategy
and central management.
“In a rst step, we will migrate our voice-centric E1-
based TETRA network to an all-IP platform,” says Held.
“at also entails a modernisation and simplication of
our network architecture. e completion of this phase
will take us into 2021. By then we will start the next step: a
tendering procedure to acquire all components and services
which are needed for operating a broadband data network
that is scalable and apt to be developed into a broadband
infrastructure that will support voice as data. e biggest
challenge is that we intend to implement this transformation
of our network without interruption to our services.”
She says the “target scenario” for the project is fairly unique
in that BDBOS is planning to introduce a hybrid network
that on the one hand will provide nationwide mission-critical
voice services until at least 2030, and on the other hand is
“targeting the 450MHz area (2 x 4.7MHz)” to implement
nationwide broadband data services in mission-critical quality
and availability. Held says one potential stumbling block
relates to BDBOS being “granted the bands in the 450MHz
frequency by our German regulator”. She says if this is not
forthcoming, “we will have to substantially rethink our plans”.
e dedicated “basic” broadband network BDBOS is
developing will be state-owned and operated and, according
to Held, because it is located in the 450MHz spectrum it
will be able to largely rely on infrastructures of the existing
TETRA network. “Capacities and functionalities of the
‘basic network’ will be supplemented by RAN sharing with
commercial operators and roaming services contracted from
commercial providers, which will not necessarily have the
same level of availability and security as the basic missioncritical
network layers. However, this strategy is still in a
preparatory state,” saysHeld.
She adds that BDBOS has already reached a political
agreement with relevant partners in the German states and the
federal government on the general outline of the strategy and
14 www.criticalcomms.com June 2019
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