Telent to announce new Coverage Comparison service and PSTN replacement services for station end mobilisation systems at BAPCO Newcastle

In addition to the new Coverage Comparison service and PSTN replacement services for station end mobilisation systems being announced, the team from Telent will be on hand to discuss its complete range of services for emergency service and public safety organisations

The new Coverage Comparison service has been developed specifically to provide emergency service organisations with detailed coverage information for mobile network operators across their operational area. With emergency service organisations increasingly using services from mobile network operators to supplement existing mission critical communication systems, it is vital to understand any areas of limited coverage particularly for organisations operating across rural arears.

Coverage Comparison provides independent, calibrated and accurate information on mobile network performance across key operational areas and is available with the option for testing of major roads or testing of major and minor roads within an organisations operational area. It is provided through drive testing performed by Telent’s team with results included for all major UK mobile network operators delivered in a detailed report allowing organisations to fully understand network performance in key areas. The report includes performance data across four parameters: Coverage (is there a signal), Resilience (identify areas at risk), Quality (expected through put) and Capacity (number of channels and available bandwidth).

Station end systems perform a critical role in the mobilisation of firefighters and resources. Information from the control the control room is received by the station end system via a critical communications network comprising a primary bearer and a separate secondary bearer that provides a back-up connection if there is an issue with the primary bearer.

In many cases traditional PSTN lines are used as the secondary bearer for station end systems. However, the PSTN network of traditional telephone lines will be switched off at the end of 2025 and an alternative secondary bearer solution is required.

Telent have successfully deployed a range of options for replacement of PSTN secondary bearers based on wireless router technology that uses 4G mobile network services to provide the secondary bearer. The range of options available from Telent includes a version that is approved for use with the ESN Connect service to provide readiness for the future transition to ESN. The ESN ready solution has been deployed at Avon FRS providing resiliency and security as a secondary bearer that replaced its legacy Paknet network – a service that was withdrawn in early 2022.

The PSTN replacement solution from Telent, uses a multi carrier SIM within the wireless router. In areas with limited network coverage this allows the optimal network to be selected, a feature that is particularly beneficial to fire and rescue services operating in more rural locations. The use of a multi-carrier SIM also means that if there is an issue with the chosen mobile carrier, the solution can be configured to automatically switch to an alternative carrier providing an additional level of resiliency.