Motorola Helps Northumbria Police Become First UK Force to Deploy CESG Approved TETRA Terminals
Motorola Helps Northumbria Police Become First UK Force to Deploy CESG Approved TETRA Terminals
Field based roll-out of 4,600 new baseline approved TETRA terminals
Basingstoke, UK – 17 September 2008 – Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced it has completed a contract to supply 4,600 MTP850 TETRA terminals to Northumbria Police.
The contract included the delivery of terminals and support services to manage the force’s migration to the MTP850 which has been accredited by the UK Government’s Communications Electronics Specialist Group (CESG) as meeting the requirements of ‘Baseline Approval’, a key requirement for operations on the UK Airwave network. The technology upgrade provided by Motorola has enabled Northumbria to become the first police force to complete a force-wide roll out of CESG baseline approved handheld terminals.
The UK Airwave TETRA network provides mission critical communications for emergency responders and is used to convey sensitive information over voice and data services. In order to ensure the protection of this information, the design and implementation of the whole network, based on Motorola’s Dimetra IP TETRA solution, is assessed by CESG. To ensure the integrity of the overall system, all Airwave users will over time migrate to CESG baseline approved terminals, either through software upgrades or by migrating to new radios.
Key enhanced security features that the Motorola MTP850 supports include:
*Air Interface Encryption – Motorola devices support the most
advanced levels of encryption defined in the ETSI TETRA specifications
*Direct Mode Air Interface Encryption – specialist radio teams
often operate “off network”, or in Direct Mode and this critical upgrade maintains information security even when users are not on the main TETRA network
*Remote terminal “Stun” and “Kill” – the ability to temporarily
or permanently disable a device when they are lost or stolen
Northumbria Police was at the forefront of the roll out of TETRA in the UK, and has been using Motorola TETRA terminals since 2002. The decision to migrate to the Motorola MTP850 <http://www.motorola.com/tetraterminals/> TETRA terminals means Northumbria once again leads the way for other UK forces in the deployment of baseline terminals. Users will also benefit from many other new features such as integrated GPS for enhanced user safety and efficient resource allocation and a WAP browser which enables officers to access local and national information databases while in the field.
All features are delivered through a familiar, user friendly interface designed to meet the needs of mission critical users.
“Motorola has been a trusted supplier for many years and have a proven track record in public safety communication. To maintain the level of security for the information our officers send and receive, we needed to achieve CESG accreditation. After an open tender process, it was clear that upgrading our TETRA terminals to the Motorola MTP850 would meet our needs both today and in the future,” said John Meldrum, Airwave & maintenance manager, Northumbria Police.
Northumbria is one of the UK’s largest forces and operates over a large geographical area, so carrying out any kind of technology roll out in this area can be a complex procedure. The migration itself was carried out in two phases, with the deployment of the MTP850 radios carried out late 2007, followed by a software upgrade to the latest CESG baseline approved software in early summer 2008. Motorola worked closely with Northumbria Police to develop and implement a comprehensive migration programme which included the radio swap-out, programming and training of officers as well as the secure disposal of old radios. To ensure alignment with the deployment of new functionality on the Airwave infrastructure, Motorola carried out field-based upgrades to the CESG Baseline software, causing minimal disruption to officers and enabling the migration of Northumbria’s fleet of TETRA terminals in just three weeks, significantly beating the force’s expectations of three months.
Iain Clarke, sales vice president, Western Europe for Motorola’s Government & Public Safety business said: “Motorola is continually investing in the development of both network and terminal technology, enabling public safety teams to maintain the highest level of security and safety for the community. Being selected by Northumbria to help them achieve the first UK CESG force-wide accreditation further demonstrates our leadership position in mission critical communication.”