Problems were encountered during the pilot

3.8  Coverage was not adequately demonstrated in all the required areas, particularly on major roads. PITO considers that the deficiencies in required coverage (95.8 per cent as opposed to 96.0 per cent) are significant while O2 believes that the problem is the difficulty in measuring coverage and that, in operational terms, any deficiency would not be noticed.

3.9  Coverage had been a contentious issue throughout the procurement, with some police forces requiring 100 per cent guaranteed handheld coverage. Providing such coverage is the most expensive part of the system as higher levels of coverage often require more base stations and base stations can be costly. The effect of coverage on price was evident during contract negotiations and, as part of efforts to make the system more affordable, forces were offered lower prices for reductions in coverage requirements. Forces considered the trade-off being offered but were not prepared to lower their requirements.

3.10  Negotiations over acceptance criteria and measurement of coverage in particular were long and involved. Reasons given for this included:

  the relative newness of the technology;

  variability in actual radio reception when compared to theoretical norms; and

  the lack of previous precedent in guaranteeing coverage.

3.11  Although users expressed satisfaction with the clarity of voice transmissions, other aspects of the system created some disquiet. During the pilot, police officers were frequently dropped off the network without warning and had to re-boot their radios. This affected up to two per cent of calls and meant that every officer could expect this to happen at least once on every shift. This had important implications for safety as officers did not always know that they had been dropped off the network and were therefore out of touch with their control room.

3.12  These problems caused delays to the pilot. Attempts to resolve them led to the testing period being extended by 15 weeks.