Cassidian Deploys Broadband Telecommunications Network Operated by French National Gendarmerie

Oct 24, 2011 ASDNews Source : European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS N.V.

One of the stages in the modernisation of the RUBIS network has led the Cassidian teams onto the highest radiocommunication site in France which is located on the Aiguille du Midi in the Mont Blanc mountain range at an altitude of more than 3,800 m.

The RF links were successfully deployed with no operational disruptions affecting the security forces, despite of the harsh environment and difficulty in working at this altitude, where physical capacities are reduced by 30 to 40%.

These operations come under the framework of the ICSFH contract (Infrastructure de Communication Securisee par Faisceaux Hertziens - Secured Radiofrequency Communication Infrastructure), awarded by the French Ministry of the Interior on 11 August 2010. This four-year contract envisages the installation of a new high-resilience broadband communication network to cover the current and future needs of the French National Gendarmerie force and the Ministry of the Interior in terms of voice and data communications in Metropolitan France and its overseas territories.

Lieutenant Colonel Gilles Martin, who manages the National Gendarmerie's operational communication systems, emphasises the importance of this project: "The development of the RUBIS network towards 'all IP' and particularly the development of its national RF component is fully in line with the strategy of enhancing existing infrastructures and preparing for the future as economically as possible, with ICSFH paving the way for future technologies."

The Ministry of the Interior has reaffirmed its confidence in Cassidian by selecting it as industrial prime contractor for the deployment and through-life support of the RF connections linking the RUBIS radiocommunication sites operated by the French National Gendarmerie As part of this contract, Cassidian has teamed up with Aviat Networks, market leader in the design and implementation of RF equipment.