Reach
Issue 8 2015
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27
forces, Airwave’s Emergency Service
Network (ESN) was upgraded to
handle the expected increase usage.
Extra capacity was added to 29 base
stations, direct connections installed
between the Gwent and South Wales
police control rooms, and a bespoke
in-building solution installed within
the Celtic Manor Resort.
“Airwave’s ESN performed
extremely well throughout the
Summit, even it experiencing the
largest ever en masse movement of
users site-to-site. During the NATO
Summit one of the sites in South
Wales had 2,057 radios affiliated to
it. This was the first time that a site
outside London had more than 2,000
radios affiliated to a site,” said Mark
Jones, Head of Business Continuity
and Emergency Planning, Airwave.
“We have unprecedented expertise
in dealing with large events, so were
able to ascertain the requirements
and provide advice – initially to the
police, and then to the Home Office.
By properly defining the amount
of additional capacity required by
emergency services during the Summit,
we were able to implement targeted
upgrades in the most cost-effective
way,” said Martin Benké, Airwave’s
Director of Network Operations.
“To put the scale of this operation
into perspective there was an
eight-fold increase in the number of
users affiliated to Airwave’s Network
compared to a ‘normal’ Thursday.
On 4 September some 580,000 calls
were made by users in the immediate
event area which is the equivalent
to 30% of the traffic carried on
Airwave’s ESN on a normal day
in London – a feat that was only
possible due to the upgrades
delivered ahead of the event.
“Even with 9,500 police officers
in the area, there were no network
issues at all. This is testament to
the hard work that many people
put into the planning, building
and maintenance of the service –
commitment that is truly appreciated
by our customers.”
In on the President’s plans
Before returning to Washington, US President Barack Obama decided to make
a detour and paid a visit to the historical site of Stonehenge. The visit was not
publicised with only a few people aware of the plan. With only four hours notice,
Airwave was briefed on the plans and quickly set about dispatching a number of
Airwave field engineers to sites around Stonehenge, together with a mobile base
station should capacity increase.
NATO Secretary General
Anders Fogh Rasmussen and
Prime Minister David Cameron
welcome US President Barack
Obama to the Summit
A RAF Typhoon in front of the Celtic Manor Resort
© NATO
© NATO
