UK Home Office awards Etherstack MCPTX contract for ESN

The UK Home Office has awarded a critical communications contract to wireless technology company Etherstack as part of its plan to transition UK public safety communications to its next-generation 5G network, known as the ESN (Emergency Services Network).

The ESN will be used by the primary emergency services — police, fire and ambulance — as well as other critical government and public safety bodies across Great Britain. IBM is providing User Services (US) for the ESN, while BT and EE are providing Mobile Services (MS).

Etherstack will meanwhile deploy its 3GPP LMR-IWF (InterWorking Function) into the ESN to allow public safety agencies to communicate from their existing TETRA digital radio network (known as Airwave) to the new LTE cellular-based ESN. The LMR-IWF switching platform is software that acts as a bridge between the traditional digital radio network to the new network, allowing hybrid operation across both networks and eventual migration to the new ESN.

“We are thrilled to have been chosen by the Home Office for such a prestigious and essential project for the safety of the public and the dedicated officers who serve them,” said Etherstack CEO David Deacon. “This win demonstrates our ability to deploy and provide 24/7 support to our highly complex, resilient public safety solutions on multiple continents around the world.”

This announcement follows a recent contract valued at more than US$20 million with US cellular giant AT&T for similar technology which had an initial term of seven years. The two deals mean that both organisations’ public safety networks will be fully compliant to the new 3GPP standards for MCPTX.

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