TETRA  |   Messaging  |  2018-02-06

New C2000 TETRA Network Ready in 2019

Source: The Critical Communications Review | Gert Jan Wolf editor

According to Dutch Minister of Security and Justice, Ferdinant Grapperhaus, the renewed C2000 TETRA communications network that serves public safety agencies in The Netherland, will not be ready until 2019.

This means a delay of two years compared to the original schedule. The delivery will be cut in two parts: in 2018, the TETRA voice network will be replaced and a year later, the renewal of the radio control in the control rooms will be completed. Minister Grapperhaus of the Ministry of Security and Justice writes this in a letter to the House.

The minister writes that the C2000 system now consists of three parts:

  1. the renewal of the C2000 voice network 
  2. the renewal of the radio control system
  3. the renewal of the paging alarm network, named P2000

In the original planning, a simultaneous, integral, delivery of these three parts of the system was provided for. In the new planning, the importance of replacing the voice network in 2018 was taken into account and it would take more time to renew the radio management in the control rooms.

Some of the new functionalities of the new C2000 will be only available when the new radio control system is commissioned in 2019. This concerns the functionality of 'free seating' (place independent work) and the possibilities of feedback and encryption for the alarm network P2000.

The financial consequences of this phased planning fits within the multi-year budget framework that is available for the investment and exploitation of the new C2000, the minister reports. "The contracts with the suppliers contain the investment and operating costs of the renewed system for the entire duration of the contract. Subsequent delivery of the system leads to a reduction of the duration of the contracts and thus to shortening the payback period for the suppliers. This means that the financial risk of a later delivery of the new system is to a large extent with the suppliers.

The total investment in the new system for the Ministry will be lower due to later completion.