Erillisverkot Group operates the Virve network across the whole of Finland which has operated on TETRA technology since launch in 1998 but is currently migrating to broadband services. Airbus will provide a four-year SaaS-service for the broadband Virve Push-to-talk solution to cover the migration period as part of the agreement.
Virve comprises 1,400 base stations and has more than 44,000 users in the network, all of whom will receive Tactilon Agnet 800 licenses for the duration of the agreement. Tactilon Agnet 800 is fully integrated into the Airbus TETRA system and broadband and can be provisioned from Tactilon Management to support integration into Vivre’s command & control environment.
The migration period when both Virve TETRA and Virve Broadband services will both be available will begin in early 2022 according to Erillisverkot’s Virve Network chief operating officer Jarmo Vinkvist. Vinkvist added that push-to-talk will remain the “most important feature of Virve’s services”.
Jari Mäkinen, account director Finland at Airbus, said: .“Tactilon Agnet 800 MC-PTT is the perfect solution for rapid acceleration into MC broadband, it brings seamlessly the full interoperability between current and broadband Virve and enables a rich ecosystem of mission critical devices and accessories partnerships to meet the needs of various end users.”
Erillisverkot announced last year that Virve 2.0's radio access network will be provided by Elisa, with 5G core systems from Ericsson, and outlined plans for all current Virve services to be completely migrated to next-generation Virve 2.0 technology by 2025.
