Culture of co-operation
Following the completion of a recent broadband concept study, Philip Mason
discusses the next phase of Nødnett with DSB deputy head of department –
and TCCA board member and director – Nina Myren
Despite the obvious difficulties engendered
by COVID-19, 2020 has still been an
important year in the development of critical
communications technology.
In terms of standardisation, for instance,
just last month we witnessed the latest ETSI MCX Plugtests,
albeit with proceedings taking place entirely online. In
July, meanwhile, the 3GPP Radio Access Network Group
announced that it had frozen ASN.1 of Release 16, paving the
way for planned final sign-off later this year.
As well as the standardisation effort, however, things also
continued to pick up speed when it came to the roll-out of
national projects aimed at providing emergency services with
mission-critical broadband. Elsewhere in this issue you will
read of the continued expansion of FirstNet, for example,
while the UK’s Emergency Services Network also continues
to progress in terms of both coverage and services such as
Air-to-Ground.
With that in mind, one part of the world starting to
generate real interest in this realm is Northern Europe, with
the likes of Erillisverkot in Finland having recently announced
a number of important milestones in regard to its burgeoning
Virve 2.0 network.
Meanwhile, Norway – the subject of this article – is just
starting on its own journey, with potential options for the
next iteration of Nødnett currently being scrutinised by the
country’s government, following a recent concept study.
History of Nødnett
Nødnett was established in Norway as a TETRA-based
Fredrik Naumann/Felix Features
replacement for the disparate analogue radio systems
previously being used by its emergency services. It was rolled
out across the country over a nine-year period starting in
2007, with initial sites including Oslo, Akershus, Ostfold and
southern Buskerud.
The network covers the entirety of mainland Norway,
boasting a current user base of around 60,000, the majority of
whom operate as part of the country’s emergency services. The
roll-out was initially delivered by Nokia Siemens Networks,
with Motorola Solutions taking over the project in 2012.
Going into more detail about the initial deployment,
deputy head of department at the Norwegian Directorate
for Civil Protection (DSB), Nina Myren, says: “The initial
Nødnett project took place over quite a few years, with
work actually beginning in 1995 the first project pilot was
established in Trondheim in 2001.
“The network currently consists of more than 2,000 base
stations, which is the number required to cover the whole of
Norway. Close to 1,000 different organisations are using it at
the moment, with the number of users equating to more than
one per cent of the people living in Norway. When it comes
to population, we are not a large country.”
She continues: “Nødnett is state-owned, and was rolled
out in two steps. The first of these was in the area around
Oslo, after which parliament decided to continue the project
across the rest of the country. The public safety agencies are all
now on the network, with other users such as municipalities
continuing to come on it as well.”
As with other parallel European TETRA projects, Nødnett
functionality is now considered integral to the country’s
The network
covers the whole
of Norway, and
currently boasts
a user base of
around 60,000
50 www.criticalcomms.com October 2020
/www.criticalcomms.com