German Interior Ministers Advocate 450MHz Frequency Range for Emergency and Rescue Workers
The interior ministers of the federal and state governments in Germany have taken a public position in the current debate on the allocation of 450 MHz frequencies.
In a joint press release, Lorenz Caffier, Minister of the Interior of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and spokesman for the CDU-led interior ministries of the federal states, as well as Boris Pistorius, Interior Minister of Lower Saxony and spokesman for the SPD-led interior ministries, advocate the spectrum in the frequency range of 450 MHz for the authorities and assign organizations with security tasks and the Bundeswehr to enable broadband data communication for emergency and rescue workers:
The authorities and organizations with security tasks (BOS) such as the police, fire departments, civil protection and rescue workers as well as the Bundeswehr communicate via digital radio according to the TETRA standard. This should be expanded in the future so that e.g. for the police, photos or videos can also be transmitted for the purpose of the search. In order for this to be technically possible, own frequencies are required in broadband data radio. The interior ministers of the federal and state governments have therefore been working for a long time to ensure that the Federal Network Agency provides them with their own spectrum in the 450 MHz frequency band, since all other areas are 'occupied'.
Mecklenburg-West Pomerania's Interior Minister Lorenz Caffier, spokesman for the CDU-led interior ministries, and Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Boris Pistorius, spokesman for the SPD-led interior ministries of the states, agree with the Federal Interior Minister that the allocation of these frequencies is of particular importance for future internal security,
Lorenz Caffier: 'We need this secure communication infrastructure in order to keep up with the rapid development in the digital world. This is essential for successful police work. Therefore, we will continue to work intensively for the allocation of the freed-up frequencies in the 450 MHz range."
The energy industry also strives to control these systems at these frequencies.
Boris Pistorius: 'In the assignment of the 450 MHz frequencies, we see the urgently needed entry into our own broadband network for our emergency and rescue workers. Due to the rapidly increasing demands on mobile applications, it is already foreseeable that we will need additional frequency resources in the spectrum from 470 to 694 MHz for the BOS in the future. In this way, we want to become even more efficient and secure the investments that are now to be made for a broadband network in the long term."
Picture courtesey of: Ministry of the Interior and Sports in Lower Saxony State Police HQ
