The Committee on Infrastructure: Public Safety Radio Network with nationwide coverage is highly important for Norway
By Arild Vollan
- Establishing a new Public Safety Radio Network with nation-wide coverage is highly important for the country's critical infrastructure. The Public Safety Network will be one of the cornerstones of the Norwegian preparedness, is the statement made by Mr. Sven Ullring, former President and CEO of Det norske Veritas. He has been head of the "Committee to secure the country's critical infrastructure."
In the recommendations from the Committee “Når sikkerhet er viktigst” -When safety and security are of the highest importance (NOU 2006:6 -Norway's Official Reports) it is stated that:
"The Committee is earnestly concerned that the development of the Public Safety Radio Network should now be completed as it has been planned".
Sven Ullring emphasises that the challenge in the time to come will be to ensure that a good system is established for taking on board the new Public Safety Radio Network in all emergency and preparedness agencies.
- Rolling out the Public Safety Radio Network is far more than a technical deployment of new equipment. It is important that extensive training should be given throughout all the Public Safety services. The introduction of a new digital Public Safety network will by necessity also entail that a closer look should be taken of organisational and working methods. In order that all the options available in a new digital equipment may be taken advantage of, the current procedures for co-operation and coordination among the emergency and preparedness agencies will need to be placed on the agenda, says Sven Ullring.
He adds that the new communications network with nation-wide coverage will make it possible to have better utilisation of the resources available today.
- The challenges are in how we shall make use of the technology and how all the emergency and preparedness services will be co-operating, points out Sven Ullring.
The recommendations state that the Public Safety Radio Network "will perform a highly important and critical function in society, and the network of base stations will in itself constitute a major infrastructure. That is why it is of such overriding importance that the grants necessary for the development to become fully implemented, should be forthcoming in the next few years."
The report from the Committee - When safety and security are of the highest importance - provides a detailed charting of the measures available for the protection of this country's critical infrastructure and functions, which are critical to society. The Committee has considered all categories of entities which are necessary in order for society to function normally, and has looked in particular at those that are not owned by or under the control of public authorities. The recommendations from the Committee are of both cross-sector and sector-specific nature in areas such as the electricity supply, the telecommunications sector, the water utilities etc. The report is available here.
- The Committee has done extensive work, and I look forward with great interest to reading its report, says Knut Storberget, Minister of Justice, in a press release, which is available here (only in Norwegian).
The report by the Committee states: "We have by definition no alternative to the critical infrastructures. They are absolutely indispensable and we rely on them completely to support the needs of society at large and each individual."
It is pointed out that failure of functions may at worst have disastrous ramifications. It is, regardless of ownership, at government level that the final responsibility will lie for organising replacement solutions and taking remedial action in the event of a functional failure. For that reason it is necessary for the public authorities to exercise control over the use and maintenance of the critical infrastructures. That control can best be ensured by way of a customised public ownership.
Safety and security and preparedness will need to be regulated in such a manner as to make certain that the requisite prevention and preparedness will be established in all entities with responsibility for critical infrastructures and critical functions in society. The Committee would therefore propose a new general Act relating to Preparedness which would include provisions about risk assessment and vulnerability analysis, reliability of operations and of supplies, preparedness plans etc.
