TETRA  |   LTE  |  2018-09-21

Motorola Solutions Reaches Agreement with UK Home Office to Implement ESN Phased Approach and Extend Airwave Network

Source: The Critical Communications Review | Gert Jan Wolf editor

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) and the UK Home Office have reached an agreement on terms for the new direction of the UK Emergency Services Network (ESN) as well as an agreement on terms to extend the Airwave nationwide digital radio network.

The ESN agreement supports the phased deployment of the ESN program, ensuring that public safety organizations will benefit from the new network’s capabilities as soon as possible. Public safety organizations across the United Kingdom will be able to roll out the capabilities of ESN at their desired pace while maintaining the Airwave network service to ensure uninterrupted service.

As part of its delivery of ESN User Services, Motorola Solutions will implement a 3GPP standards-based push-to-talk (PTT) software solution. This global platform uses technology from Kodiak Networks, which was acquired by Motorola Solutions in 2017. To allow for the new phased deployment strategy, the Motorola Solutions ESN agreement will be extended by 30 months through the end of 2024.

The Airwave agreement, which is expected to be completed later in the year, will extend the network on substantially similar terms for three additional years to Dec. 31, 2022, with the option to be further extended. The company will also upgrade this critical public safety network to ensure the requirements of public safety users continue to be met.

“We are proud to support the Home Office on its new delivery approach for ESN while at the same time ensuring public safety users have the Airwave communications network they need,” said Kelly Mark, executive vice president, services and software at Motorola Solutions. “We have been working closely with the Home Office to ensure that our services are aligned with this new phased deployment and timeline for ESN.”