Airwave prepares for ‘long-term’ future

Airwave has signed a contract with NEC Europe for the replacement of 2,100 BT kilostream circuits that make up part of the Airwave Network.

The replacement product is LTE (long-term evolution) ready, which is in line with the industry’s push for it to become one of the leading technologies for future mission-critical communications.

John Lewis, COO at Airwave, said: “Over the next few years, BT will be withdrawing its kilostream product used in part of our network. We have decided to make the investment now as it ties in with our move towards technology and services beyond the core TETRA network.”

He added that “the replacement service will offer customers a future-proof transmission service to support both current and future capacity requirement to base sites”.

The NEC has provided microwave radio solutions to Airwave since 2006.

“We will be replacing a large proportion of Airwave’s current TETRA backhaul network with high-capacity iPASOLINK microwave radio solutions,” said Naoki Iizuka, president and CEO of NEC Europe. “In addition, we will manage the network design, site acquisition, site construction and installation.”