The Background
To support its future transition onto the new Emergency Services Network (ESN), the customer needed to gauge the real service quality of its actual 4G LTE coverage.
The Challenge
The government first announced plans to transition to a new emergency services network in 2011 and all emergency services have a target for completing the transition to the Emergency Services Network (ESN) by December 2019. The new ESN will provide emergency services with a cheaper, faster and more sophisticated communications system.
Before transitioning onto the new communication network, emergency services need to ensure that the 4G LTE network is fit for purpose and has suitable operational coverage. Ensuring that staff are contactable across their regions has important duty of care implications for both members of the public and employees.
The Solution
The customer wanted to collect data on the quality of the 4G LTE network across its region. The customer deployed Telent’s Coverage testing units into a number of its operational vehicles. Once connected to a power source in the vehicle, the unobtrusive units started collecting data as soon as the vehicle was switched on and a GPS location was secured. Each unit then took measurements about the network functionality as staff drove around the region as part of their usual job. The data was then automatically collected and analysed by Telent, who then presented insights back to the customer via an online portal, which was kept constantly up to date.
The data unearthed network ‘black spots’ which would have been undetected had customer vehicles not been carrying out the testing. As a result, Telent’s Coverage solution has helped the customer to proactively
engage with the 4G LTE network provider. This will help ensure a smooth transition onto the ESN in the future.