Ambulance Service (Radio Network) (Hansard, 19 January 2004)

§ Mr. Caton
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the competition for a new national radio network for the ambulance service. [147806]

§ Ms Rosie Winterton
AnOfficial Journal of the European Commission Notice, issued in June 2002, invited suppliers to express an interest to provide a new digital radio network and associated hardware. This was separated into four "lots", which together would provide the complete new service for the ambulance service.
18 expressions of interest were received. Following a short evaluation, eight were invited to respond to an output based specification. Following this exercise, four responses were received, one of which dropped out soon after. From the remaining three, only one supplier was able to provide Lot 1 (digital infrastructure), while all three were able to provide Lot 2 (Fixed and Hand Portable Radios), Lot 3 (Control Room Dispatcher Equipment) and Lot 4 (Total Integration of all Lots at Ambulance Trusts).
1058W

§ Mr. Caton
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Government will ensure that usable spectrum is available to bidders competing to provide a new national radio network for the ambulance service. [147811]

§ Ms Rosie Winterton
The Radio communications Agency (RA), as the spectrum manager for public safety spectrum, has been working hard to meet ever increasing demands placed on the finite spectrum resource.
The radio spectrum available to the emergency services was a matter for the Public Safety Spectrum Policy Group (PSSPG).
The PSSPG published guidance in order to assist interested parties in identifying available public safety spectrum and advising as to other issues that should be taken into account. This was the case with the Ambulance Service procurement exercise. It is recognised that only the 380–385 MHz and 390–395 MHz spectrum is in the harmonised format for digital technologies and all of this is required in spectrum 'hot spots' to meet the existing airwave requirement. While spectrum in this band is available on a carefully co-ordinated regional basis, it was considered that the capacity to meet a second national network that can be planned and protected to meet the exacting requirements of public safety did not exist.