A new full-fibre communications network connecting 163 remote radio stations across 11,000 miles of UK coastline is now up and running.
The network will play a vital role in the work of His Majesty’s (HM) Coastguard, which responds to thousands of distress calls from British waters every year.
It will receive and respond to distress calls from seafarers and fishing fleets as well as coordinating search and rescue operations.
Stretching across the entirety of Britain's coastline "from the Shetland Islands to the Isles of Scilly", it is among the UK’s largest private broadband networks and will provide coverage across all four nations in the union: Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England.
The British telecommunications firm Telent installed 1,220km of the new infrastructure, starting work on a network combining full-fibre and microwave technology in December 2020.
Earlier that year, Telent secured a ten-year contract with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to design, build and operate the HM Coastguard's upgraded network as part of a scheme called the Radio Network Infrastructure Replacement Programme (RNIR).
The MCA is responsible for preventing loss of life on the coast and at sea, and is an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport.
“The reliable digital connection and the improved resilience provided by the new network will aid HM Coastguard’s life-saving search and rescue operations for years to come with Telent on hand to provide its critical expertise,” said Telent CEO Jo Gretton.
“Having first begun working together in 2010, maintaining radio equipment at the remote radio sites and delivering additional support services, Telent and MCA’s relationship has moved from strength to strength.”
Lee-on-the-Solent, Crystal Palace, Humber, Bridlington and Brighton Marina were among first sites which switched over to the new search and rescue radio network.
“The new network provides a firm foundation for the MCA’s potential future and new technology services and projects that only the high performance of a full-fibre network can support,” Gretton continued.
HM Coastguard Assistant Chief Coastguard Matthew Leat said: “The national radio network is integral in supporting our mission of preventing the loss of life on the coast and at sea, enhancing our ability to respond to emergencies across the UK."
The upgraded full-fibre connectivity offers "greater bandwidth and security" as well as "enhanced performance and improved reliability." After all 163 remote radio sites are connected, Telent will provide a fully managed service that will monitor and manage performance, carry out maintenance, and implement technical updates.
