Emergency communications in the UK to move to 4g mobile phone network.

The UK emergency radio communications system currently operates on a Tetra system provided by a company called Airwave. The Airwave contract is due to be reviewed and it appears that EE a mobile phone company has won the contract to operate on it's 4g network. Currently the Airwave contract costs the UK around £450 million a year to operate and it is expected that the EE contract will cost around £1.2 billion over a 5 year period.

TETRA

This may be of interest to the Amateur Radio community as it means that many thousands of Tetra radios will become redundant over the next few years and I wonder if this digital technology will find its use in new TETRA amateur radio networks? (just another form of digital radio).

Transmit (RF) DMR radio from your smartphone

DMR from your smart phone may be possible by adding a radio module.

DMR smartphone

Listen for a new UK prefix on the air in 2016.

Cornwall in the UK have just been given approval to us the prefix K (Kilo) in their callsign; this is the first time a UK region has been allowed to use such an identifier and it will allow the opportunity to easily recognise station from Cornwall and give them a call.
Here is more information from OFCOM:

(Click on the above for a clear image)

Here is an article from the local press explaining how it happened.

K for Cornwall

OFCOM to revoke Amateur licences

If you have not yet revalidated your British/UK Amateur Radio Licence OFCOM will remove it from you, a little time is left to sort things out.

 

(Click on the above for a clear image)

 

Are you ever asked about Amateur Radio?

If so play the following new RSGB introduction to the hobby.

RSGB