Towards transnational interoperable PPDR communications: The European ISI Cloud Network

The European Council has been stressing the need for interoperability among technologies used for Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) communications across Europe for a long time. Nevertheless, while the introduction of TETRA and TETRAPOL technologies in the last two decades has increased the possibility to talk cross agency internally in a country, cross border communication for the public safety forces is not well solved as of today. This paper describes the communications interoperability solution that is being developed in the framework of the ISITEP project. This solution, referred to as the European Inter-System Interface (ISI) Cloud Network, aims to integrate the PPDR national/regional infrastructures to allow migration (i.e., roaming) and communication services between networks within a secure framework. The ISI Cloud Network involves, among other components, the specification of a new ISI interface to be deployed over IP transport networks and the development of a number of different gateways to cover the use of TETRA and TETRAPOL technologies as well as the use of legacy TETRA ISI by some networks.