The Home Office has signed deals with Handsfree Group and TST Group to provide LTE vehicle devices under the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP).
It is a framework agreement, valued at up to £130 million in the contract notice, to give the three emergency services a simple procurement route for devices that will work with the Emergency Services Network (ESN).
It will also apply to some Home Office services and other organisations that support emergency services.
The devices will comply with the Long-Term Evolution standard for wireless broadband, the trademark for which is owned by European standards organisation ETSI. They will provide priority access to 4G voice and data communications over the ESN.
The deal is the latest step towards the deployment of the network, which has been plagued by delays and prompted criticisms from several quarters, including Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.
Two years ago the Home Office extended its deal with Motorola Solutions as a prime contractor by two years until December 2024. But in the summer of last year it announced three framework deals with suppliers of control room software and another with APD Communications for the upgrade of software to be used with the network.
Image from iStock, Matt Gush
