08 October 2019
Date 8/10/2019, Brussels
Successful tenderers sign contracts
On October 7th 2019, in Brussels, the BroadWay Pre-Commercial Procurement project reached a decisive point with the signature of framework agreements with the lead tenderers of 4 successful consortia. This paves the way to the development of innovative solutions to provide broadband mobile communication services to enable public safety responders to be operationally mobile throughout Europe, carrying secure and reliable information services, wherever and whenever they need them.
What and who is behind the BroadWay PCP? As crime and disasters are not limited to fixed geographical borders, there is a necessity for European first responders to be able to communicate, share and access information regardless of the country they intervene in. This is the challenge tackled by the BroadWay project, a team consisting of 11 procurers from 11 European countries, which came together in May 2018 to procure innovation activity to enable a pan-European broadband mobile system for Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR). ASTRID, the telecom operator of the Belgian emergency and security services, acts as lead procurer on behalf of the 11 participating countries. By working together, national ministries and their agencies responsible for responder communications (the Group of Procurers) jointly steer the development of solutions, in order to satisfy public safety mobile communication needs.
The BroadWay team also stimulates competition for research and innovation to provide high technology readiness solutions, ready to be tested by responders. The BroadWay Group of Procurers will continue to evaluate the progress of the alternative approaches proposed by the 4 supplier consortia throughout 3 critical phases – design, prototype and pilot.
Crucially, Public safety responder practitioners of all disciplines will assess those proposed solutions to ensure that they will improve their informational capability and operational mobility.
Following yesterday’s commencement of contracts, these consortia will now develop the design of the solution for the common challenge to develop this pan-European mobile broadband system for public safety.
Therefore, BroadWay is extremely pleased to present consortia led by Airbus DS SLC, Frequentis, Leonardo and Rohill.
In all, the four consortia are made up of 34 companies from 11 EU Member States and 1 Associated Country. Together these countries include – France, Finland, Spain, Belgium, Poland, Austria, Italy, Portugal, UK, Netherlands, Switzerland and Ireland. Each consortia includes SMEs, independent and impartial test organisations, Mobile Network and Satellite Operators.
Photographs below are taken during speeches made by European Commission, PSCE and Astrid to welcome BroadWay suppliers and to stress the importance of these life saving technologies, policy, standards and working both in competition and together to find solutions to the BroadWay Common Challenge.
Max Brandt, DG Home, European Commission.
David Lund, BroadWay Project Coordinator
Marc de Buyser, CEO of Astrid, BroadWay Lead Procurer
Luc Dermine, Chief Financial Officer of Astrid, exchanging signed contracts with BroadWay suppliers
Yves Van Tente, Airbus DS SLC
Robert Nitsch, Frequentis
Claudio Becchetti, Leonardo
Bert Bouwers, Rohill
