Responsibility for building and operating Norway’s nationwide Tetra network, Nødnett (‘Emergency Network’), is to be transferred at the end of next month from Nokia Siemens Networks to Motorola Solutions.

Nødnett is a multi-agency digital radio communication system owned by a Norwegian government body, (DNK, the Directorate for Emergency Communication), which is responsible to the Ministry of Justice.

After an extended trial in the Oslo region, Norway’s parliament voted last June to expand Nødnett to full national coverage by the end of 2015 – an ambitious programme calling for some 2000 base stations. The project is the first to have TEDS advanced wireless data services written into its specification.

Hitherto, Motorola has been the supplier of the core Tetra infrastructure for Nødnett, but it will now also be the prime contractor, providing all managed services for the rollout and implementation.

“The process leading up to change of turnkey supplier has been going on for a long time”, commented Tor Helge Lyngstøl, director of DNK. “We regard the change as a positive change. Mission-critical radio solutions are a core area for Motorola, and we are therefore pleased that Motorola’s role in the project is being expanded. Motorola has been a key supplier of the core technology in the Nødnett Project from Day One. This change of contractor therefore entails few changes for the Norwegian government.”

Speaking of Motorola Solutions, Esa Harju, of Nokia Siemens Networks, said: “We believe it has the best fit to take over responsibility for the Nødnett project, as Nokia Siemens Networks continues to build a sharper focus on its new strategy around mobile broadband with leading commercial operators.”