Brussels, 01 August 2019 – Astrid, the Belgian national operator of the radio communications, paging and dispatching networks designed for the emergency and security services, has confirmed its trust in the established Airbus-Proximus consortium by granting the renewal of the support and maintenance contract agreements. The network, which is equally called Astrid, serves users from all public safety and security services (police, fire, health and ambulance services), and several utility and transport companies in Belgium.

This contract confirms two decades of a trustworthy business relationship between Astrid and the consortium, and its renewal will allow Astrid, the operator, to benefit from the assets and experience attained over this period of time. The contract includes the continuity of support for major components in the Astrid environment including the end-to-end Tetra radio communication network, the integrated ICT platforms, and the Computer Aided Dispatching (CAD) applications. The scope of the contract includes operational support as well as preventive, corrective, and evolving maintenance services. In addition to these services, the hardware repair chain and software evolutions are also foreseen. 

The agreement has taken effect as of July 2019, and is built around four pillars:

• Mission Critical service continuity to Astrid and to its end users

• Cost and pricing optimisation

• Service reinforcement

• Long-term commitment concerning the evolution and the support of the Astrid systems.

A specific focus on optimised operational processes (ITIL), and a review of organisation has also been agreed upon. Overall, the scope of this contract covers support for more than 25 different technologies.

Since 1998, the public company Astrid has been developing, managing, and maintaining the national radio communications network, paging network and a series of control rooms in Belgium. Astrid is an initiative of the Belgian federal authorities.

Secure Land Communications

Secure Land Communications (SLC), an Airbus business unit, offers advanced communication and collaboration solutions enabling its customers to gather, process and deploy intelligence. Its portfolio is tailored to the needs of professionals from Public Safety and Transport, Utility and Industry (TUI). It includes infrastructures, devices, applications and services based on Tetra, Tetrapol and Broadband technologies. As the European leader and a key international player, SLC has customers in more than 80 countries and employs around 1,150 people in 17 countries. https://www.securelandcommunications.com

Photos credits: Airbus