SWEDISH GOVERNMENT DEMONSTRATES ITS CONFIDENCE IN CASSIDIAN TO EXTEND NATIONWIDE RADIO COMMUNICATION NETWORK RAKEL

Cassidian has extended its contract with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency for the TETRA network RAKEL. The network serves around 35,000 users today, a number slated to rise to 70,000 within a few years.

"We are very pleased to extend this contract and continue our work with the consortium," says Nils Svartz, Deputy Director General at the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB). "The increased population density in a globalised environment calls for advanced safety and crisis management. Immediate and comprehensive situational awareness is one of the most critical parameters in coordinating security forces to handle critical situations efficiently. Rakel provides all our users such as civil protection, public safety and security forces, with the capability to decide and act on a solid awareness basis in emergency situations."

"It is most satisfying that we have concluded this contract," says Stefan Kvarnerås, CEO Rakel unit at MSB. "In this contract we have agreed on efficiency improvements in operation, service and maintenance, giving us a foundation on which to attract new customers with better usability and services."

"By signing this new contract, the Swedish government has demonstrated its confidence in Cassidian's ability to design and provide future-proof security solutions and services in the long term," said Jean-Marc Nasr, Head of Security & Communication Solutions at Cassidian.

RAKEL was delivered by a consortium consisting of Saab, Cassidian and Eltel Networks contracted by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) in December 2010. The secure TETRA radio communication network serves all main security forces in Sweden, such as the police, coastguard, customs, rescue services, ambulance services and defence forces. It enables the user organisations to cooperate fully on a national scale. Serving public order, security and health organisations, it is also used by commercial parties such as utility companies.

Scheduled to run for a period of five years, the project has delivered a robust radio communication system which consists of around 1,700 base stations and a number of switches, replacing 200 communications systems. The components have been set up in places ranging from the southernmost areas of Sweden all the way up to the northernmost regions. The first parts of the network have been in operation since April 2006.

Source: www.cassidian.com