The Nordic public safety network operators have published a joint specification of requirements for broadband devices. The white paper includes requirements and guidelines on important device features. The paper was written for device manufacturers and intended to be considered when defining the future generation of handheld devices.
The broadband Virve 2 services will soon upgrade the communications of the authorities and other security operators into the new millennium. The services are currently being tested, and the deployment is about to begin as a collaborative effort – now on a new schedule that supports customer migration.
The war in Ukraine has been an extreme school also from the perspective of authority communications. What can Finland learn from it? Timo Lehtimäki, CEO of Erillisverkot, highlights three points.
When the emergency number 112 picks up a call, five authorities are ready to help in the field: the police, rescue services, emergency medical service, Finnish Border Guard and emergency social services and crisis services. The Emergency Response Centre transfers the mission to the appropriate authorities who can be quickly connected to a shared Virve talk group and out in the field to help.
The new broadband Virve service for public safety operators is being built carefully and in stages. “We have made excellent progress, as a large part of the work has already been done. The situation could be compared to a building that already has foundations, walls and a roof – at this stage it already looks like a house,” says Ari Toivonen, Development Manager at Erillisverkot.
The legendary Michèle Mouton, a former rally driver, participated in Rally Finland in Jyväskylä as a member of the FIA safety delegation. She praises Virve, the Finnish authorities’ public safety network, emphasising the importance of radio communications in ensuring the overall safety of rallies.
The first Top Tech Trends survey of Erillisverkot concentrates in particular on the future technology opportunities of the authorities and security operators. In the autumn 2021 survey, the focus is on convergence of technologies, 5G, cloud technologies and artificial intelligence and satellites.
Erillisverkot starts procurement of 3GPP compliant 4G/5G end user devices to be used in Virve 2.0 service. Procurement will be done by using a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS).
Finnish authorities’ communications will gradually move towards the broadband and mobile era in the 2020s. The next generation broadband Virve service is an entity coming together like a jigsaw puzzle in collaboration with its users. How is the project coming along?
The biggest benefits of 5G will not be visible on your mobile phone screen but, in transport, energy production and emergency services, for example, wrotes Antti Kauppinen, CTO at Erillisverkot Group.
Erillisverkot Group and Airbus Secure Land Communications (SLC) have entered into a renewed Virve maintenance agreement until 2025. The agreement is a continuation of previous maintenance agreements and covers switching and base station technology as well as application maintenance and support services.
The new broadband public safety network, Virve 2.0, will be available to mission critical operators in 2023. Reetta Siltasalmi-Kautto, our Service Designer and Harri Virtanen, Head of Department of Customer Relationships explain how the development is carried out in cooperation with our customers.
