The UK Government Cabinet Office’s Civil Contingencies Secretariat is delivering the High Integrity Telecommunications System (HITS) project in partnership with Paradigm Secure Communications and the UK Ministry of Defence.
HITS is a secure and resilient satellite-based communications system capable of delivering secure data and telecommunications while operating completely independently from the main UK telephone network.
The system is designed to provide telephone and Internet communications to the emergency services and related agencies in the event of a national emergency when existing landline or mobile networks are either down or seriously degraded.
Whether it’s a terrorist attack, industrial accident or natural disaster, the HITS system will ensure that central Government and the emergency services are able to communicate effectively either via satellite phone or the Internet.
Fixed terminals at key locations
HITS, which is based on the Ministry of Defence’s advanced secure military satellite Skynet 5 network, has fixed terminals deployed at key locations throughout England and Wales, mainly within Police Strategic Command Centres.
The service also includes mobile terminals that can be deployed to designated locations, either as back-up or to support regional operations. These terminals, along with up to ten telephones and laptops, can be on the road within six hours of an emergency call-out by the Cabinet Office.
The Cabinet Office has made HITS available for a wider role of late, and the solution was successfully deployed for policing the Ryder Cup in 2010 (and, more recently, for the visit of the Pope to the UK).
Funded by the UK Cabinet Office, the service is provided free of charge to all regional police and emergency services in England and Wales.
Key decision-makes from the world of CNI protection
Charles Raynor (HITS project co-ordinator, resilient telecommunications with the Civil Contingencies Secretariat at the Cabinet Office) will give a talk on HITS in the Albany Suite of the Britannia International Hotel this coming Thursday at 11.30 am as part of Critical National Infrastructure 2011.
Critical National Infrastructure 2011 is a business strategy conference that will be attended by key decision-makers from across the whole CNI arena.
The conference focuses on the practical aspects of strategic delivery of agendas and proposals set out in the National Security Strategy and CONTEST (the Government’s policy document aimed at tackling terrorism). An overriding aim is to generate serious discussion about the future of resilience and security in the UK.
It’s an event designed to strip away the political rhetoric commonly associated with traditional Government conferences and deliver a more effective line of communication between central Government, critical infrastructure organisations and the supplier arena.
In addition, Critical National Infrastructure 2011 offers those charged with the protection of the national infrastructure a powerful platform at which to discuss the policies and agendas they’re required to deliver in order to effect a true resilience strategy.
Overarching resilient telecoms strategy
Raynor will first introduce the Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat, examine the overarching resilient telecoms strategy and current projects and then focus on HITS. There’s also be time for a short Q&A.
Paradigm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EADS Astrium, a leading commercial provider of military-grade satellite communications.
The company is the prime contractor for the Skynet 5 contract with the UK Ministry of Defence, which was signed back in October 2003 and estimated to be worth GB pound 4 billion.
Skynet 5 provides mobile voice, video, Internet and broadcast communications for the UK’s Armed Forces, plus a range of other militaries and Government agencies worldwide (including NATO and the US Department of Defence).
For further information on the Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat, Paradigm and Critical National Infrastructure 2011 access the dedicated web links at the foot of this page)
