£60m critical safety comms contract with HMRC

Airwave will provide the criminal investigation and detection teams at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) with digital radio communications.

The £60 million contract will run for 15 years and involve the rollout of around 4,000 connections as well the establishment of a control room. HMRC staff using the Airwave service will benefit from increased coverage as well as the ability to interoperate securely with other public safety organisations on the Airwave network.

HMRC’s law enforcement arm investigates and detects crimes involving tax fraud, smuggling and related issues. Its duties involve providing the strategic, tactical and operational intelligence needed for the detection and prosecution of individuals in breach of UK law with regards to tax and duties.

For HMRC officers it is vital that their radio network is secured to ensure mission-critical communications are not subject to eavesdropping.

Airwave’s radio network allows all voice and data traffic carried over it to be securely encrypted, making it impossible for third parties to listen in to communications.