2015: Countdown towards the completion of Nødnett in Norway Author: Håkon Heier

Tracking the current progress towards complete delivery of Nødnett, the new nationwide TETRA system for Norwegian Public Safety and rescue agencies.Motorola Solutions took over the responsibility as prime contractor of Nødnett in Norway back in 2012, with the responsibility for long term operation and maintenance until 2026. The comprehensive project, based on TETRA core and radio technology, is the largest contract we are delivering. As well as covering normal populated areas, the nationwide Public Safety network covers the country’s remote areas, fjords and mountains. The base stations that are needed are subject not only to extremes of climate with snowy winters and high winds but also strict environmental regulations.2015 will be a hectic and exciting year, but a high pace is critical to meet the tight time schedules agreed with our customer DNK (Directorate for Emergency Communication).Our Nødnett team consists of 500 skilled people from Motorola Solutions and our subcontractors. We have more than 30 engineering teams working in the field, climbing high radio masts and installing TETRA equipment to complete the nationwide radio network. At the same time, several teams are installing new control room solutions in police operations centres, fire brigade ‘110’ centres and at health emergency call centres.Our hard work last year has delivered great results and positive feedback from Nødnett users. Interviewed on Norwegian TV station NRK before Christmas, Terje Tonning Haugaland, a spokesman for a regional Police force said “Nødnett is a success. None of my colleagues will return to the old system. The experiences we have with the new radio network is exclusively positive.” Tonning is one of the more than 25,000 users from the Norwegian Public Safety agencies, Customs and other users such as the Red Cross, who have started to use Nødnett in their day-to-day operations. The cross-agency collaboration through Nødnett will increase Public Safety preparedness in Norway as well as providing improved and secure communication services for the emergency users.“This can help save lives. Instant and direct communication increases collaboration and could reduce possible misunderstandings,” says Sveinung Tofteland, information officer, for the Norwegian Red CrossOur teams have now installed and integrated over 1,300 fully operational TETRA base stations. In addition, hundreds of new base stations are built or under construction. To ensure good radio coverage everywhere, our drive testing teams drove over 400,000 kilometres along highways and main roads last year in order to measure the quality of the network. We also delivered TETRA radio coverage in 350 kilometres of tunnels and have prepared almost the same number of tunnel kilometres for Nødnett operation during 2015. Our indoor coverage specialists also provided upgraded solutions for enhanced coverage inside a large number of public buildings, hospitals, emergency rooms and fire stations.Last year, we managed to complete the installation of 35 large control systems in police operations centres, fire call centres and emergency medical centres plus 35 smaller health control rooms in the past six months. We delivered more than 10,000 TETRA radio terminals to Norwegian Public Safety users and installed mobile radios in more than 1,000 vehicles - police cars, ambulances, fire engines, boats and even snowmobiles.We also demonstrated, for the first time in the world, live video streaming in a live TETRA network. The data service in Nødnett is called TEDS (TETRA Enhanced Data Services) and a pilot project with Public Safety users also began. We believe that data services and applications will play an important role in future Public Safety solutions and we are looking forward to presenting our latest news to the Norwegian TETRA users at the conference The Nødnett days in March this year.One of our most important responsibilities is to ensure high quality services and reliable communication for Public Safety users in Norway. Nødnett has stricter requirements for uptime than other mobile networks and any irregularity must be quickly detected and corrected. To ensure the operation and maintenance of the TETRA system, our staff is in place at the operations centre around the clock, seven days a week. We also have field engineers across the country who are ready to move out if equipment needs correction, such as after a Polar storm or power outages.With January behind us we are preparing to attend more opening events across Norway as users celebrate the official launch of Nødnett in their region. 45 Nødnett openings - about one per week - are already scheduled and more will be added. A busy time lies ahead of us!We are ready to complete the nationwide rollout of Nødnett in 2015. The countdown has started.Follow our blog every month to read more as we work towards completion. Follow our progress too on TwitterMotSolNORHåkon Heier is Country Manager of Motorola Solutions Norway.Håkon is on LinkedIn at no.linkedin.com/pub/håkon-heier/3/375/276/enFollow @MotSolsEMEA and @MotSolNOR on Twitter. Join the Motorola Solutions Community EMEA at http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Motorola-Solutions-Community-6519590/about