The £3bn Airwave emergency services radio network is being rolled out to east of England ambulances and is meeting with ‘only positive feedback’ from crews.

But the Tetra-based network continues to attract criticism from the police.
Airwave is used by more than 150,000 officers across the country’s police forces, and will be rolled out to all fire and ambulance services by 2009.

The digital radios help users share data more quickly and accurately, said paramedic Steve Heard from the East of England Ambulance Service.

‘We have had only positive feedback from our crews. In our operations, saving time can mean saving lives,’ he said.

But Airwave faces charges of unreliability, patchy coverage and slow progress.
It is already used by police officers in 27 of London’s 32 boroughs, and will be extended to the remaining five by the end of this month.

A recent report by a London Assembly committee reviewing the 7 July Tube bombings highlighted a series of concerns, including a lack of coverage underground, indoors or when surrounded by tall buildings.

Airwave is problematic in dense urban areas, said committee chairman Richard Barnes.

‘The contract specified coverage “in the open air, at ground level”, which might be all right in Norfolk, but elsewhere there are gaps in reception,’ he said.

A major bugbear is that the system does not work in the Underground.

Coverage on the Tube was not included in the original Metropolitan Police contract signed in 2001. Following a £55m deal in December 2006, Airwave is working on a solution to link the police network with the Connect system used by London Underground train drivers.

But there are still gaps, mainly on deep lines. And even when the programme is completed next year, 26 of the capital’s 275 stations will still not have coverage ­ including St James Park, directly opposite New Scotland Yard.

Without the Connect system, provided by the same supplier as Airwave, London’s challenge could be even greater ­ original estimates put a £30m price tag on the Tube project.

Other cities are relying on alternative schemes. Glasgow, for example, plans to use emergency response vehicles driven to the site of a disaster to provide temporary radio coverage.

Another problem is that coverage inside buildings is worse than with the old analogue radio system, say senior sources in the Met. Providing bolt-on cover in areas such as Wembley and Heathrow has cost as much as £2.5m each.
Police insiders also question the network’s day-to-day reliability.

‘Airwave is susceptible to pressure. If lots of people are using their radios it affects efficiency,’ said a source.

‘The infrastructure and software need to be improved. At the moment Airwave gets a six out of 10.’