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Home Office awards ESN test contract

The Home Office has awarded a multi-million-pound contract to test the Emergency Services Network (ESN) as it continues it’s transition to 4G based communications.

The contract, awarded to telent Technology Services Ltd, will see the delivery of the ESN Assure service as set out by the government in September. The ‘new strategic direction’ is set to save £200 million in public money per year by fully replacing the current radio-based network with a mobile 4G network.

As such, the new approach will mean emergency service users can use data services over the network from as early as next year, with voice capabilities following soon after. The move aims to transform the emergency services way of working, giving them priority over commercial users.

The telent contract for ESN Assure includes the full testing of the 4G commercial network from all of the mobile network providers for the emergency services. telent will also handle up to 150 individual user accounts and 50 simultaneous user logins for access to all software analysis of testing, with the possibility to develop the application to allow for more capabilities once ESN is made available.

Barry Zielinski of telent said: “We’re thrilled to be involved in this new direction for ESN and help to provide the emergency services with far better data quality. As one of the most critical communications networks in the UK, it’s crucial that officers can communicate in real-time. Our testing and service offering is second to none, with our support offices available 24/7/365.”

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