TETRA  |  2020-03-26

Nødnett Announces Need for Extra Radios and Network Capacity Due to Covid-19

Source: The Critical Communications Review | Gert Jan Wolf editor

Covid-19 has led to an increased need for both radio terminals and network capacity Nødnett, the critical communications TETRA network in Norway.

DSB announced that the spread of the corona virus and managing the situation around Covid-19 in Norway, requires additional demands on the emergency services. The increased load on the emergency communications network due to the coronavirus situation now also leads to increased need of devices and network equipment.

Around 200 new radio terminals are currently programmed and distributed to a number of user organizations in Nødnett, mainly health organizations.

Also the Norwegian police reported that they have used all their emergency radios, which are normally used for major incidents that require extra staffing, communication and coordination.

Extra network capacity has been delivered in record time to five emergency services who experience high pressure. These are mainly medical guards in the city of Oslo and Viken.

"We do what we can in the scenes, both as a contingency organization and as a provider of critical infrastructure. Basically, this is about DSB continuing to provide a service that can withstand the load, and that will withstand the load even as the situation develops", says Sigurd Heier, department director at DSB.