The contract to build what will be the world’s largest shared TETRA public safety network (in terms of geography) has been won by a consortium led by Saab and including Nokia and Swedia. The Swedish government has chosen the Nordic consortium to build a professional mobile radio network for the shared use of all Swedish public safety organizations. It will provide and operate a single nationwide TETRA-based network that will replace the large number of separate systems currently in use by the Swedish authorities.
The Swedish government has allocated some €250 M for the ‘Radio Communication for Effective Public Safety’ project (known by its Swedish acronym of RAKEL). Nokia will provide its complete TETRA system, including digital exchanges, base stations, network management system and dispatcher workstations, while Saab will carry out system integration and Swedia Networks will provide operation and system maintenance. The network will have nationwide coverage, and it will be implemented in phases from 2004 to 2009, starting in southern Sweden, followed by the Stockholm and Gothenburg regions.