Fire and rescue services are pioneering with TETRA in the county Böblingen, Germany
A total of 633 towers an now installed in the country and 15 are located in the county of Böblingen.
For what is already standard in most European countries - the communication of police and firefighters via digital radio - was not yet available in Germany, until now. Now, in Baden-Württemberg Tetra radio communications system has been introduced. Already for one year the police is using the TETRA radio system for their communications. Now the fire and rescue services are using TETRA. The area of Böblingen is the pioneer in the country. In a pilot project, all fire departments in the region have tested the digital radios. The experience will be shared and will then feed into the general introduction of the system in the country.
Yesterday the project was presented at the District Office. Each fire station in the county, and one vehicle at the local fire departments are equipped with a digital device. The integrated control centre in Böblingen firehouse who run the fire department and the Red Cross together and will be going live in Autumn this year. The control room for the region was upgraded for EUR 250 000. and the cost for the 60 digital radios EUR 36 000,- was for the most part paid by the region
The firefighters enjoy better voice quality. "The noise, that's all gone," promises the country's fire chief Hermann Schroeder. Also, it will happen no more, that police and fire departments from different circles will communicate on the same channel.
The police, who communicates for some time with the new technology is very positive about the system. "We used to have big problems with the radios in Herrenberg. Sometimes we only heard a crackling noise or nothing. Now, the voice quality is good, says Uwe Vinçon, spokesman for the police department in Böblingen. Particularly pleasing the police: the digital radios are different than the analog radio and are absolutely secure against eavesdropping.
633 cell towers in the country
150 radio masts had to be built for the new technology, others where upgraded. A total of 633 towers an now installed in the country and 15 are located in the county of Böblingen In the coming months, the fire departments within the county will be testing two different devices from different manufacturers. After this test phase, the fire service should be fully equipped with the new technology.
About 250 radios - one for each fire truck - still need to be purchased. That is the task of local authorities, said the vice district Wolf Eisenmann. The country, however, help with a grant.
Source: Stuttgarter Zeitung
