8
News
T-Mobile US’s 5G public
safety offer a step closer
www.criticalcomms.com March 2020
APD wins UK ESN
integration contract
The Home Office has contracted
APD Communications to develop
critical software to integrate blue
light organisations and other public services
with the forthcoming Emergency Services
Network (ESN).
ESN is intended to replace the UK’s
existing TETRA-based Airwave network,
and the Home Office is leading a crossgovernment
programme to deliver it. It will
provide police, fire and rescue and ambulance
services, as well as other public safety
organisations, with voice and data services.
The contract means APD will create an
integration solution to connect emergency
services to ESN, with the old and new
systems working in tandem. It will pave
the way to individual services and agencies
undergoing a managed migration to the new
advanced communications network. APD is
the first supplier to be contracted to deliver
ESN integration.
Mike Isherwood, managing director of
APD, said: “We are delighted the Home
Office has placed this significant contract
with us, which reaffirms our position as the
control room market leader and as a global
control room leader in LTE solutions. It’s a
significant badge of honour and will allow
us to ensure all our customers are at the
forefront of technology and operational
efficiency, enabling them to employ the most
modern methods for interacting with, serving
and protecting the public.”
A US federal court approval in February for
the $59bn takeover of US mobile carrier
Sprint by rival T-Mobile US has brought
the promise of a 5G service for firstresponders
a step closer.
T-Mobile promised that if its proposed
merger with Sprint gained regulatory
approval it will offer free 5G access
for public safety agencies under its
Connecting Heroes Initiative. The carrier
previously said that if the merger were
approved it “will launch a 10-year
commitment – providing unlimited talk, text
and smartphone data for state and local
public and non-profit law enforcement,
fire, and EMS agencies”.
However, the carrier has not said
whether it will provide the necessary
priority and pre-emption services for first
responders, or whether it will offer 3GPPcompliant
mission-critical PTT services.
On 11 February, a US federal court
rejected a lawsuit by 13 state attorneys,
including in California and New York, who
objected to the deal claiming it would
reduce competition and result in higher
prices for consumers. The appeal by the
states was made despite the fact that the
FCC and the US Department of Justice
had given conditional approval of the deal.
T-Mobile and Sprint argued that by
combining the two companies they will
be in a better position to compete with
their larger rivals AT&T and Verizon. The
judge in the US federal court for the
Southern District of New York, who heard
the case in December 2019, appears to
have agreed and ruled that the merger
was not expected to significantly lessen
competition and noted that Sprint was in a
weak position by itself.
The two companies hope to complete
the deal by 1 April, some two years after
the merger of the third- and fourth-largest
mobile operators was first announced. A
number of regulatory formalities still have
to be completed before the merger can
be finalised. California telecom regulators
have still not approved the deal, which
may delay finalisation of the merger.
T-Mobile has made commitments that
the amalgamated network will extend
5G coverage to 97 per cent of the US
population within three years and 99 per
cent within six years, as well as making
commitments to extend rural coverage to
cover 90 per cent of rural Americans.
The Home Office contract runs to January
2021 and requires APD to produce control
room technology, which will be trialled
by lead force Thames Valley Police. A
subsequent nationwide roll-out is expected to
take place in 2021 and 2022.
Isherwood added: “The Home Office
has placed its trust in us, on behalf of all
the organisations it represents, to produce
the control room technology required to
connect with ESN. Subsequently it will be
down to each individual service to make
the transition, supported by our software
solution. This is an absolutely critical step
towards an exciting future. The primary
objective is to continue to protect the public
during this migration, ensuring a business-asusual
transition.
“After successful migration, the focus will
shift to improving and enhancing services
to the public through the use of this nextgeneration
technology to deploy a new wave
of applications, such as enhanced location
services and live video-streaming, that will
help public services to be more efficient, more
effective and share information more easily.”
APD’s mission-critical communications
and control solutions are used by more
than two-thirds of UK police forces, as well
as other emergency services organisations.
The company also provides critical software
for major transportation hubs, including
Gatwick and Dubai international airports
and the London Underground.
/www.criticalcomms.com