World’s first cross-border emergency communication network

Norway and Sweden have become the first two countries in the world to connect their national emergency communication networks. The Frequentis control room communication solution allows all Norwegian emergency centres to seamlessly manage both domestic and foreign resources on the Norwegian public safety network, Nødnett.

The Norwegian-Swedish Inter-System Interface (ISI) project was developed in 2016 to establish cross-border emergency communication between the two countries, for simplified and strengthened cooperation and interaction. The network organisations, Norway’s Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB), and Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), worked closely to develop common guidelines for the ISI project and complete testing to ensure the connection was stable and secure. In total, 28 different participants across Norway and Sweden demonstrated the new functionality through a common talk group trialed for a number of months in 2018. On February 1, 2019 the trial was officially put into operation. The ambulance services in both countries are now utilising the service.

Sweden and Norway share a 1,619-kilometer open border. Citizens can live, work and move freely between both countries, increasing the need for interconnected emergency communication to manage possible emergencies, international crime and terrorism, as well as major public events, state visits or environmental disasters. The Norwegian air ambulances faced particular challenges when dealing with ski incidents on the Swedish side of the Scandinavian mountains, often losing network coverage.

“Allowing Norwegian and Swedish emergency services to communicate seamlessly across the two networks will vastly increase cross-border communication and the ability to save lives. We are pleased to have been a part of such an important project to transform the way that the two countries communicate during emergency situations.” says Oliver Ossege, Managing Director Frequentis Norway.

The deployment of Frequentis control room communication solution was completed in 2015 for all Norwegian emergency service centers, and updated in 2016 as part of the ISI project to support domestic and foreign TETRA resources.