Sweden is Taking the Next Step Towards a Modern Public Safety Communications System

Together with the user organizations, the Swedish Transport Administration, Svenska kraftnät and to some extent commercial actors, MSB will develop and establish a common infrastructure that can meet high demands on safety, robustness and accessibility.

MSB and the Swedish Transport Administration have been commissioned by the government to plan and prepare further development and establishment of the state's largest infrastructure investment for mobile data communication through the ages. Police, ambulance, rescue services, and other public safety entities are in great need of modern communication tools in a state-controlled network.

In order to meet modern requirements for data capacity, robustness and security, the Swedish Government has previously commissioned MSB to investigate how the public safety critical communication system can be further developed. This inquiry was submitted in the spring this year and as a result of this, the government now gives the MSB the task of starting the planning and preparations for development and establishment in accordance with the proposal.

"We are tasked with producing a solid decision basis for the government to take a position on so that we can begin the expansion of a new and much-anticipated communication system as soon as possible", says Ronny Harpe, operations manager at Rakel and management system at MSB.

Higher security requirements, changed security policy conditions, technological development and increased digitalisation have led to new ways of working. Being able to securely share real-time videos from crime scenes, use drones at accident sites or share positions with each other during rescue operations are some examples of effective functions that current communication systems are not capable of. The external situation has also changed, which places higher security requirements on communication systems in socially important activities.

"Increased levels of cyber threats and security incidents against Sweden's digital infrastructure threaten our ability to handle serious incidents. Enhanced cyber security and secure communications are a prerequisite for socially important activities to fulfill their tasks in a satisfactory manner, says Camilla Asp, Director General and Acting Director General of MSB.

Collaboration in planning

The assignment will be carried out in collaboration with the Swedish Transport Administration and in close collaboration with relevant authorities and users.

"MSB and the Swedish Transport Administration will plan and prepare for the upcoming expansion and establish a structure for collaboration and project management. It is important that the planning and preparations are done together to get a cohesive and robust solution, says Bo Netz, Director General of the Swedish Transport Administration.

The assignment includes, among other things, developing a detailed system architecture and transmission planning, making the necessary legal analyzes, producing a basis for procurement, making an overall cost calculation, providing proposals for financing alternatives and producing development plans in various stages.

Security policy, legal and socio-economically justified

Together with the user organizations, the Swedish Transport Administration, Svenska kraftnät and to some extent commercial actors, MSB will develop and establish a common infrastructure that can meet high demands on safety, robustness and accessibility. It is politically, legally and socio-economically justified to establish a common infrastructure for the services to be offered to user organizations.

Background

MSB has the main responsibility for the Rakel radio communication system that is used todayl. The system is primarily built for speech and has been used for over 15 years. Work is underway to offer services for mobile data communication in a separate system in a first step.

The new system will be based on a state-owned core network and utilization of the Swedish Transport Administration's and Svenska kraftnät's infrastructure for fiber networks, as well as a gradual expansion of its own radio access network with coverage throughout the country. In order to take advantage of the market's competence and innovative power, close collaboration with commercial mobile operators is also proposed.

An important prerequisite is that the system can use a dedicated radio spectrum in the 700 MHz band.

As part of the preparation for Rakel Generation 2 and to learn from experience, MSB recently visited Faroese Telecom where KIMA, a modern mission critical communications broadband push to Talk system for public safety entities recently was implemented. KIMA allows first responders to communicate on land, at sea, under sea and in the air. 

Picture: Courtesey of News Oresund