Airbus customer ASTRID to Optimise its TETRA Network in the Next Few Years

The Belgian public network operator ASTRID will modernise its secure radio communication networks, infrastructure and services in the next few years. The corresponding management and investment plan, in place until 2020, was approved by the Belgian government and ASTRID’s Administrative Council in December 2016. Accordingly, the Belgian government has decided that the investment for the various systems and upgrades will amount to 117 million euros.

The government intends to offer a high-quality service and to safeguard the network’s capacity as well as its reliability. The investment plan covers the upgrade and the reinforcement of the current ASTRID Tetra network. The first steps of the network upgrade have already been initiated and the implementation will be intensified in the next few years.

Since the inception of the nationwide ASTRID network for public safety in 1998, Airbus has closely cooperated with the operator. The company has helped to strengthen crucial components of the ASTRID core network by providing efficient system management. This has contributed to the system’s security.

“Based on close and trustful cooperation in the past, ASTRID and Airbus continue to work together to achieve the best outcome for end users in Belgium,” says Olivier Koczan, Head of Secure Land Communications at Airbus. More than 50,000 users communicate securely via ASTRID’s Tetra network. These users include, for instance, police, rescue services, firefighters and coastguards. In addition, ASTRID also serves several utility and transport companies.