Construction of BOS digital radio network begins in Germany

Federal Minister Schuble commissions reference platform from EADS

Basis for fast construction of entire network

20 June 2007 – The Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schuble gave the official go-ahead today in Berlin for the construction of the digital radio network for German security authorities and organizations (BOS): The EADS reference platform requested by the Procurement Office of the Federal Ministry of the Interior in December last year has been completed and was brought into service today. The reference platform consists of numerous linked sub-networks. This will serve as a test and validation platform and thus provide the necessary technical and practical basis for the entire network. Apart from conducting interoperability tests using different terminals from various manufacturers, the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) is also preparing tests on the secure end-to-end encryption concept. The reference platform will later become an integral component of the overall network.

“Today’s commissioning of the reference platform marks an important milestone in the construction of the BOS digital radio network in Germany, as it has created the basis for swiftly equipping the police, rescue services, fire brigades and disaster control with a secure and failsafe radio system,” said Stefan Zoller, member of the EADS Executive Committee for Defence & Security.

The contract for the BOS digital radio network was awarded by the Procurement Office of the Federal Ministry of the Interior to EADS in August 2006. Within the scope of this contract, EADS will act as prime contractor and, together with Nokia Siemens Networks, construct a nationwide TETRA digital radio network by 31 December 2010. The two companies have already successfully cooperated in the past on other international BOS digital radio projects. The digital radio network in Germany provides security authorities and organizations with secure and failsafe communication. In all, the contract has a potential volume of up to 1 billion for EADS.

The construction of full-coverage digital radio networks is a core competence of EADS. Working together with partner companies, to date EADS has set up or is currently setting up over 150 digital radio networks in roughly 60 countries. Among these are 33 nationwide public safety networks, 14 of which are in Europe.

EADS Secure Networks, which bears the responsibility for the project within EADS, is part of Defence and Communications Systems (DCS). Defence and Communications Systems is the EADS Systems House, an integrated Business Unit of EADS Defence & Security (DS). DS is a systems solutions provider combining military air systems, missile systems, communications and intelligence systems, global security solutions, sensor and avionics systems, as well as test and support solutions into a single effective network. In 2006, DS – with its around 23,000 employees – achieved revenues of 5.9 billion.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2006, EADS generated revenues of 39.4 billion and employs a workforce of about 116,000.

Contact:
Alexander Reinhardt
Tel.: +49 (0)89 3179 4646
alexander.reinhardt@eads.com

Susanne Hartwein
Tel.: +49 (0)731 392 1757
susanne.hartwein@eads.com