Major Peaks on ASTRID TETRA Network during Mons 2015 Launch

ASTRID, the telecom operator for emergency and security services in Belgium, registered major peaks in radio traffic during the opening day of Mons European Capital of Culture. During large-scale events, radio communication constitutes an indispensable aid for the police and emergency services. Because of the scope of the security deployed last weekend, radio traffic registered extraordinary peaks on the ASTRID base stations covering the centre of Mons.

Exceptional measures

The festivities that were held this past weekend in Mons signified a major challenge for the police and all emergency and security services. The presence of the royal couple, ministers and 100,000 visitors made exceptional security measures necessary. Hundreds of agents of the local and federal police, volunteers, military, firefighters, Red Cross aid workers, public transport agents as well as organising and safety personnel were deployed. To manage the event, all of these elements of the security system made full use of their ASTRID radios, generating far more traffic on the ASTRID network than on a normal weekend.

Peaks of radio traffic on the ASTRID base stations

The ASTRID systems played their supporting role flawlessly. Police radio communications went without a hitch, despite an overall radio traffic volume five times greater than normal between Saturday noon and Sunday morning on the base stations covering the centre of Mons. 

Communications follow the programme of the festivities

On Saturday, radio traffic rose steadily from 12 noon to 3 p.m., at which time it was 9 times greater than an ordinary Saturday (413 minutes of communication/hour). The process of closing off the city to normal vehicle traffic undoubtedly generated numerous radio communications. A second peak was then registered towards 6 p.m., corresponding to the arrival of thousands of visitors in the city centre. Two other peaks were seen at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. The traffic remained exceptionally high until midnight, and it was only around 6 a.m. Sunday morning that the communications of the police and emergency services returned to normal. 

Consultation with the field

ASTRID prepared for the events in consultation with the authorities. Coverage and capacity measurements were conducted in the months preceding the big day. Useful lessons were drawn from the experience with the “ducasse of Mons”, a popular festival held each year on Trinity Sunday. The mobile base station (truck) was kept on stand-by so as to be able to handle any incident. ASTRID also installed a dispatching tool in the command centre for the benefit

Photo: Next generation photo