Great Britain’s transition to a broadband Emergency Services Network (ESN) has been a major focus of discussion within the critical communications industry for many years, thanks in large part to its complex technical challenges, significant cost increases and delayed rollout.
Simon Ricketts, a senior technology adviser and chair of the Independent Technical Assurance Panel at the Home Office, once described the project as “ahead of its time.” But what started as a world-first transition from Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) to mission-critical services (MCX) over broadband, is now increasingly divergent in timing, innovation and approach from the path other countries are pursuing to address the same challenges.
So how are other countries addressing the need for mission-critical voice and data, and what lessons can we learn?
The Hybrid Evolution
The U.K.’s original ESN plan involved a ‘Big Bang’ switch-off, with the goal of turning off the TETRA Airwave network quickly to minimise dual running costs. This cliff-edge, at a time when the technology remained untested and unproven, created immense pressure and has led to repeated delays.
In contrast, other countries have prioritised the safety and operational needs of first responders by adopting a path based on coexistence - continuing to invest in proven private mobile radio (PMR) networks such as TETRA for voice, while using 4G networks for complementary data capabilities, including video, mapping and workflow applications.
In the United States, the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) is currently the largest public safety broadband network globally, boasting over 6.7 million connections across more than 29,500 agencies. Nonetheless, FirstNet is positioned by regulators and public safety officials as a complementary augmentation to PMR, not a near-term replacement.
Similarly, Australia has explicitly rejected the decommissioning of PMR for the foreseeable future. The Australian government, spurred by recent, severe natural disasters, is currently in the procurement and discovery phase for a national Public Safety Mobile Broadband (PSMB) capability. However, governmental strategic roadmaps and directives explicitly state that existing statewide P25 PMR networks will continue to operate alongside the PSMB, providing the foundational mission-critical voice services, while the PSMB will deliver strictly complementary data and video enhancements.
New Zealand also provides a stark contrast to the U.K.'s ESN replacement strategy. Through its Next Generation Critical Communications (NGCC) entity, New Zealand is investing $1.4 billion to overhaul its public safety infrastructure. Rather than migrating away from radio, however, the NGCC is concurrently rolling out cellular priority roaming services and simultaneously constructing a brand new, highly resilient digital P25 land mobile radio network.
Objectively, PMR networks such as Airwave’s TETRA technology remain the most reliable form of mission-critical voice communication and are continuing to advance. Products such as DIMETRA™ Connect augment TETRA networks, allowing emergency workers to retain essential TETRA features, such as status messaging and group calls, by utilising Wi-Fi and mobile phone networks when operating outside of traditional radio coverage. This helps organisations benefit from extended coverage and reliable connectivity in areas where it was previously difficult to reach - for example, in certain large buildings and underground areas.
Despite these continuing technology advances that offer the best of both worlds, and despite its persistent struggles in delivering a comparable alternative, the U.K.’s ESN strategy remains rooted in a model of retiring Airwave’s TETRA network entirely. Others see a different path forward and aim to keep PMR as part of the mix.
Network Architecture and Connectivity Competition
The U.K. doesn’t only differ in how it is pursuing the transition, but also in its approach to network architecture.
In the U.K., ESN will share the same EE commercial network as, for example, teenagers watching TikTok, meaning it will rely on quality-of-service, priority and pre-emption (QPP) software to kick civilians off the network and let critical communications through.
Theoretically this may be possible; but in a ‘saturated cell’ scenario (such as a terror attack at a football stadium or other large venue), the physics of cellular spectrum can lead to a lack of coverage, and any degradation in service could have a devastating impact.
Again, other countries have taken markedly different approaches, either creating a dedicated slice of spectrum for first responders, or building a dedicated network.
In the U.S., FirstNet utilises a dedicated slice of spectrum (Band 14), giving first responders their own ‘lane on the highway,’ separate from commercial and civilian usage. This mitigates the risk of 'saturation,' protecting network availability for first responders' data needs.
Even with this protected spectrum, U.S. agencies continue to use PMR for mission-critical voice due to its unrivalled reliability in the moments that matter most.
Elsewhere, South Korea is frequently cited as the global pioneer in public safety broadband, having achieved a nationwide deployment of its public safety broadband network, known as Safe-Net, significantly earlier than Western counterparts.
The U.K. government often uses it as an example of a country successfully deploying the same strategy as ESN. However, the network architecture is a fundamental point of difference: Safe-Net is a dedicated public safety network with a commercial network fallback, which is made possible, in part, due to the network’s significantly smaller size compared to U.K public safety requirements for ESN.
Similar to the U.S., the Korean government allocated a specific chunk of the 700MHz spectrum (Band 28) exclusively for public safety, with no shared infrastructure. While Safe-Net does also use commercial networks, it is only as a backup option. For example, if a firefighter enters a deep basement where the dedicated 700MHz Safe-Net signal doesn't reach, their device can roam onto commercial 4G networks as a fallback.
The U.K. as a Unique Case
There is no doubt about the direction of travel: critical communication networks need to be augmented, integrating data capabilities such as video, database look-up, drone communications and more.
However, that does not require a premature rush to abandon PMR - field-based data is already informing police operations across the U.K. Tools such as Pronto are allowing front-line officers to rapidly query key local, national and international police databases from handheld devices, whilst recording evidence-grade electronic notes, reports, fingerprints and photographs, enabling officers to file police reports directly from the field.
The U.K. set out a pioneering vision for ESN. However, continued delays to its roll-out mean there are now many worldwide examples of very different approaches to learn from. One thing has become clear: the U.K.’s approach is unique to that taken by any other country, and as the ESN experience shows, LTE and 5G-based public safety networks are complicated, with myriad requirements to fulfill.
PMR networks, like Airwave, are not legacy technologies to be hastily discarded, but foundational pillars of public safety that continue to advance and offer new features for users, designed to work perfectly in tandem with broadband.