O2 Airwave awarded £350m Fire & Rescue services contract

May 30, 2006 - The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has signed a contract with O2 Airwave to provide the Fire and Rescue services with a new secure and highly resilient digital radio system.

The contract, which runs until the end of 2016 and is worth around £350 million, means that all three major emergency services will be supported on the Airwave network. The Airwave service is already in use with all police forces throughout the country and all Ambulance Trusts in England will have the service by the end of 2008.

The new radio system will be rolled out to Fire and Rescue services in England from 2006/07 and includes both voice and data capability. The Airwave service will replace their current systems  - and includes the facility to interoperate across all Fire and Rescue services and with other Airwave users, including police, ambulance and the MOD.  The contract also allows for the extension of the radio system into Scotland and Wales.

The addition of the Fire and Rescue services brings the total number of public safety organisations using the Airwave network to over 200. Their inclusion is a major step forward in public safety and, with the ability for users to interoperate on the same radio network other during major emergencies, the O2 Airwave vision of a complete joined up public safety communications network is becoming a reality.

The clear need for seamless communications between emergency services has been underlined following the high profile events of 2005 such as the London bombings and the increased number of natural disasters across the world.

Pete Richardson, chief executive of O2 Airwave, said:  "We are delighted to have been awarded this contract and to have been given the opportunity by ODPM to provide the Fire and Rescue services in England with what we believe is the best communications solutions for their needs. We have a service that is unrivalled and proven. Over the past few months, the Airwave service has played a vital role in helping to support public safety users at major events and major incidents such as G8 and the T200 celebrations. We look forward to working with the Fire and Rescue services."

The Fire Minister, Jim Fitzpatrick, said:  "Today's emergency services increasingly face large-scale incidents that require a multi-agency response and it is important that our Fire and Rescue Service is equipped to be a resilient and modern service capable of meeting the demands and challenges of today's environment. For the first time ever the different Fire and Rescue Services will be able to communicate with each other via the same radio network and with other emergency services via radio."