TETRA  |   LTE  |  2022-05-20

ASTRID Prepares the Future and Innovates Critical Emergency Communications

Source: The Critical Communications Review | Gert Jan Wolf editor

Emergency and security services will receive a new 5G radio network in the future.

ASTRID, the telecom operator of the emergency and security services in Belgium, will develop a new 5G radio network in the future.

Communication can make the difference between life and death at crucial moments. The innovative broadband network that ASTRID will be developing and installing in the coming years, will be able to send larger amounts of data to and between emergency services in a safe and reliable way.

ASTRID has been arranging communication between the various emergency and security services in Belgium for more than 20 years. More than 750 police zones, fire brigades, ambulance services, ... are connected through one large radio network. ASTRID is also responsible for the technical management of control rooms 101 and 112. From the first emergency call that enters the control room to communication with the emergency and security services that respond to the call in the field: ASTRID integrates the entire communication cycle into one network.

Under the influence of innovative digital technology, the environment in which ASTRID operates has changed rapidly. That is why ASTRID will work in the coming years on the development and installation of an ambitious and progressive communication via the 5G network. The two types of control rooms (101 and 112) will also be upgraded.

Salvator Vella, Director General of ASTRID: “ASTRID is the lifeline for the emergency and security services. It is our responsibility to ensure the safety of the citizen. Communication can save lives, in emergency situations every second counts. The TETRA communication on which our network is based today is reaching its limits and is not built to send very large amounts of data. Data traffic over 5G networks creates new possibilities for fast, secure and reliable mission-critical communication.”

Hybrid network

ASTRID opts for a hybrid solution with the new broadband network. Because it would be too expensive to build separate antennas and transmission towers, and because these are becoming increasingly difficult to license, the network will use the infrastructure of the commercial telecom operators. But the core of the network, the 'brain', remains completely in the hands of ASTRID. The telecom operator for the emergency and security services guarantees the safety, reliability and confidentiality of all communications.

The plans for the technological transformation of the radio network and control rooms are the result of extensive consultation with all emergency and security services. Federal Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden will shortly submit the plan to the Council of Ministers. She already supports the plan and in December 2021 – together with her colleague from telecommunications Petra De Sutter – already gave an important impetus with the KB 700 MHz (the auction of frequencies for commercial operators), which guarantees, among other things, that communication to and between emergency and security services takes precedence over other communications where necessary.

Until the new broadband network is fully developed and installed, the current TETRA network will remain operational and maintained. Afterwards there will be a transition period, and ASTRID will support all users with the migration to the new network, while the current TETRA network will still be active.