EE rumoured to have won UK network contract

The Telegraph in London is reporting that EE, the UK’s largest mobile phone operator, will be awarded the country’s £1.2bn emergency services radio network (ESN) contract, taking over from the outgoing Airwave Solutions.

The newspaper reported that an official announcement is imminent.

The current Airwave private network, which is due to be turned off in 2020, provides communications to approximately 300,000 police, fire and ambulance officers.

EE’s proposal is for a solution that would use its 4G mobile infrastructure, with a claimed 90% UK coverage. The system would be ready by mid-2017.

Airwave’s network cannot provide the mobile broadband capability that modern emergency services organisations require. A 4G system, on the other hand, can.

EE’s CEO, Olaf Swantee, told The Telegraph, “Clearly the requirements for the emergency services are very demanding… This process has gone on for 15 months but what we have shown now with 4G being out there and available to 93% of the population is that it is now possible to have the network on mobile and obviously it offers savings to the taxpayer.”

Meanwhile, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has approved BT’s £12.5bn takeover of EE.

Image courtesy Ray Forster under CC