Portuguese Government Demands Pressure from SIRESP on Portugal Telecom
SIRESP, the TETRA based emergency communications network in Portugal, still relies on the fixed network, which still uses aerial cables in the affected area.
Last week, Portugal's prime minister has blamed Portugal Telecom in part for failings in the national emergency communications network during the recent forest fires in Pedrogao Grande. The emergency communications TETRA network (SIRESP) in Portugal still relies on the fixed network that is connected with aerial cables in the affected area.
Problems in communications between the various emergency services complicated the efforts to put the forest fires out, according to a report released earlier by the Portuguese MOI. In a recent interview Prime Minster, Antonio Costa said that the aerial lines would have burned during the fire and suggested that Portugal Telecom should have replaced the aerial lines with underground cables.
The Prime Minister said that it is unacceptable that aerial lines were still being used along national roadways. The government now wants to SIRESP to put more pressure on Portugal Telecom to improve its services or find another network provider.
