Belgian Gov. turns on Green Light for Investments in ASTRID Tetra Radio Network
Dozens of new masts will be added at sites such as Brussels Airport and important business locations, taking outdoor coverage to 98-99 percent and further improving indoor coverage.
The Belgian government has approved the budget and investments in the emergency services network Astrid, reports de Tijd, L'Echo, Belga and a large number of other publications in Belgium.
The annual budget is set at EUR 47 million and another EUR 117 million will be invested through 2020 to improve coverage, capacity and reliability.
Dozens of new masts will be added at sites such as Brussels Airport and important business locations, taking outdoor coverage to 98-99 percent and further improving indoor coverage. More carriers will be used at each transmitter as well, as currently only two of the available six are activated.
The upgrades follow problems in March during the terrorist attacks in Brussels when voice and SMS services fell out for a number of public service officials and they were forced to communicate over WhatsApp. The Astrid network is used by around 120 ministers and civil servants as well as 5,000 to 7,000 workers at the emergency and security services, who will all receive Sim cards giving them priority access to mobile networks.
