KPN network causes communcation problems for C200 and P2000

KPN, one of the main suppliers for TETRA radios to the C2000 TETRA network, leading telecommunications and ICT service provider offering wireline and wireless telephony, internet and TV to consumers, and end-to-end telecommunications and ICT services to business customers in The Netherlands, will replace all clock cards of the 88 key cross-connect nodes in its network. An overwhelming flip clock in July caused a very serious fault.

After almost a half year of research, networking provider Alcatel Lucent and KPN came to their final conclusion: the clock cards of the 88 so-called cross-connect switches in the KPN network should be replaced. The present bells are not to be trusted, after one collapsed in July.

Grip 4 emergency
This problem caused a nocturnal disturbance in 6000 critical links in and around the Rotterdam region. The C2000 and P2000 network for emergency services was hit as well as the communication services of the Rotterdam metro and air traffic of Rotterdam Airport. In this region there was a crisis called: Grip 4. (a serious threat that exceeds municipal boundaries and/or possible shortages of basic necessities and other things.)

In one of the cross-connects, at a crucial moment, the clock malfunctioned. This was crucial, because at the time, service was committed after a previous failure on the same switch. The cross-connect is redundant, but not during the repair. When the clock in the primary system freaked out, there was no backup system and it went flat.

All clocks replaced
KPN now has decided that all clock cards of the 88 cross-connects in operation will be replaced. That will happen next year. Besides the technical examination of Alcatel there two more investigations done by the government.

Source: www.webwereld.nl