18 August 2017

Frequentis says more than 1,000 dispatchers worldwide – such as the Swiss police shown here – work with its system which connects telephony and radio functions with all associated data services.

In what’s described as the UK’s largest integrated command and control system (ICCS), the Department of Health has selected Frequentis’ 3020 LifeX as a replacement for its current platform. 

The new software system will have a capacity for almost 700 concurrent users. It will be hosted at Crown Hosting Data Centres to provide a highly resilient national solution for all ambulance trust control room operators in England, with an option to include those in Scotland and Wales.

Frequentis says 3020 LifeX will not only allow control centre staff to communicate with ambulances on the current TETRA technology-based Airwave network, but also the new Emergency Services Network (see News, Jan 2016) once it is operational. The company says its platform will also provide a map-based view of all ambulance locations to complement current systems and provide another layer of resilience for the most critical of services.

According to Frequentis, this new approach to the provision of critical services for an emergency services’ control centre allows for flexibility and innovation to meet any future requirements, such as the potential use of multimedia. The firm adds that even though the system is national, it will also ensure local requirements for individual trusts are also catered for.

Robert Nitsch, public safety director at Frequentis, says 3020 LifeX’s ‘private cloud’ infrastructure, intuitive web-based front-end, and ability to integrate numerous third-party systems means a single national solution can meet the specific needs of individual ambulance trusts. “This brings the benefits of scale without compromising the individual’s needs,” he says.