| Selectric GmbH has won the tender for the supply of Sepura TETRA radios to the German federal state of NRW |
Selectric GmbH has won the tender for the supply of Sepura TETRA radios to the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).
The digital terminals will be delivered to the North Rhine-Westphalian Police. The contract awarded to Sepura's German partner Selectric Nachrichten Systeme GmbH is for c. 25,000 Sepura radios and accessories.
On Friday the 15th of January, in an official ceremony in Duisburg, the first radios were handed over to the regional authorities' leader for the central police services of North Rhine-Westphalia (LZPD), Mr. Jürgen Mathies, by Selectric's General Managers, Jürgen Heußner and Hendrik Pieper.
"In the European-wide tender of North Rhine-Westphalia, Selectric and Sepura's offer was the most competitive" Jürgen Mathies said. "Further to the results of the exhaustive tests of products from all bidders, we are confident that we have chosen the best partner for the provision of the new digital TETRA radios to our police forces".
NRW chose Sepura's STP hand-portable and SRG mobile gateway radios. The STP radio was specifically developed with the German public safety user in mind. It combines PMR and cellular features and operates in the most physically challenging conditions. The gateway functionality in Sepura's SRG vehicle radios is a market-leading feature. This acts as a relay point for both hand-held and other vehicle radios, extending the trunked network into areas of limited coverage - the exact scenario expected during the roll-out of the BOS network.
The STP radio was specifically developed with the German public safety user in mind |
Selectric and Sepura's proposal also included a complete vehicle solution called Radio Concept 3000; this was a key differentiator which made the tender unique. Radio Concept 3000 includes Sepura's digital radios as well as consoles by the German company Elektronik-Labor Carls. This solution combines digital and existing analogue communication technology, which will enable North Rhine-Westphalia to roll out the new digital equipment whilst maintaining communication in areas where the digital TETRA coverage is not yet complete. The rollout of the BOS-net in NRW is on target to meet the planned deadlines. The estimated total requirement for TETRA radios in NRW is c.100,000 units.
Hendrik Pieper, General Manager for Selectric said: "The Radio Concept 3000 vehicle solution was one of NRW's specific requirements, hence our proposal needed to provide a high degree of flexibility for the programming and upgrading of terminals. Another strong element of our offer was undoubtedly the inclusion of Radio Manager, Sepura's advanced client-server based programming tool".
The tender's estimated total value amounts to €30 million. It was originally awarded in April 2009, and the higher regional court of Düsseldorf ratified the decision in December 2009 after having rejected a contest from a competing bidder.
"In terms of value this is the largest contract for digital radios for BOS-net awarded in Germany to date" |
Jürgen Heußner, CEO of Selectric commented: "In terms of value this is the largest contract for digital radios for BOS-net awarded in Germany to date. We are even more excited about this win because North Rhine-Westphalia is our home-state; Selectric group of companies' headquarters are based in Münster". Heußner added: "With this order Selectric and Sepura now have 83% share of the market of all awarded digital radio BOS-contracts in Germany".
Kasper Barfoed concluded: "This prestigious win is another incontestable testament to the success of Sepura and Selectric's partnership. Selectric's deep knowledge of the German market and the strength of our product portfolio have once again proven to be a very competitive combination".
Eight of the ten federal states gone to tender have chosen the digital radio equipment offered by Selectric and Sepura. These comprise Baden-Wurttemberg, Bavaria, Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. The remaining German states are expected to award contracts for the supply of digital radios in the first half of 2010.
NRW is the westernmost, most populous, and most economically powerful state of Germany. It has over 18 million inhabitants, its capital city is Düsseldorf, and the largest city is Cologne.