Public Safety End Users in Finland to Test New Critical Communications Broadband Network

In Finland, they are approaching a significant turning point in the timeline of critical official communication: the current Virve narrowband TETRA network will change to Virve 2 broadband services by the end of 2028.

The Virve 2 network that will enhance future public safety- and critical communications in Finland is already in the test phase by serveral user organizations. In this way trust is created by experimenting.

In the introduction of Virve 2 services, the customers' functional testing phase is now underway. This means that users are now testing the services and are able to get to know the technology before  actual operational implementation. This functional testing of the critical communicatons broadband network ensures that new services work as they should.

In Finland, they are approaching a significant turning point in the timeline of critical communications: The current Virve narrowband TETRA network will change to Virve 2 broadband services by the end of 2028.

"The transition doesn't happen just then, it's a step-by-step process. An important familiarization and testing phase is now underway, which ensures that the new services work as they should. The goal is trust in the services, which is achieved through testing,"

says development manager Harri Virtanen from Erillisverkot.

Now the coverage areas of the service are being mapped and the Group Voice Service corresponding to the Virve official network is being tested. Virtanen, who coordinates the testing of user organizations, is happy that the users have already started getting to know each other, even though each operator has their own task to handle and limited time for testing. Virtanen said:

"The importance of testing is clearly recognized in user organizations: they want to ensure that the new services are of sufficient quality and meet the operational criteria. Testing has also produced results. In the spring, the observation of a test user of a user organization led to the discovery of a hidden problem in the Group Voice Service. Now the problems have been resolved and the service can be trialled and tested again,"

Functional testing: getting to know the technology before actual operations

According to Virtanen, in the first phase, user organizations familiarize themselves with the functionality and features of the service, such as terminals, additional devices and available services. Trial use has already taken place, for example, in the organizations of the rescue service, the police, the border guard, social health services, the defense forces and many other smaller organizations.

This functional testing means; testing Virve 2 services in the user organizations' own operating environments with their own operating principles and settings. Prior to this, operator of the network; Erillisverkot has carried out its own tests to ensure the functionality of the service in various areas.

At this stage, the users' experiences with the services are largely based on the observations made through the terminal devices and the applications in them.

"Our own tests eliminate most of the shortcomings, but usually with the help of user observations and feedback, even more development needs are found,"

says Virtanen.

Functional testing aims to ensure that defects and development targets are encountered as little as possible after the operational use of the services begins.

"During the transition phase of implementation, operational reliability is secured by the current Virve authority network, with which Virve 2 works seamlessly together. It will be kept in operation until a sufficient routine and trust in Virve 2 services has been achieved", Virtanen reminds.

Testing has also been made easier for users, and observation and reporting have been partially automated. For example, Virve 2 - testing the indoor and outdoor coverage of the service area can be easily done using the Virve 2 Radar application installed on the terminals.

Virtanen is an experienced Virve expert. While working in the senior positions of the rescue service and the rescue department of the Ministry of the Interior, he was already involved in the implementation project of the current Virve public authority network at the beginning of the 2000s.

Picture: Courtesey of Airbus | Translation: Google Translate