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A new police dog sponsored by O2 Airwave is put through his paces.
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| Welcome to the O2 Airwave section of the mmO2 plc corporate responsibility report. We provide secure communications for the police and other emergency services. |
| Message from Managing Director | What is O2 Airwave | Community Service | Technology | Investment | Health | Environmental concerns | Key data |
At O2 Airwave we believe we are playing an important role in improving public safety in the UK.
We are creating a secure and seamless communications network for the police forces of mainland Britain and for other emergency organisations. By early 2005 we aim to have completed the roll-out to all 51 police forces, with more than 100,000 public safety users anticipated on the network.
Two fire brigades and one ambulance trust are currently using Airwave and we are short-listed to extend the service to brigades and trusts nationally.
O2 Airwave's aim is to make society safer by providing communication when and where it matters most. Improving public safety underpins our community initiatives too.
But we recognise that some people have concerns about Airwave. Our occasional use of temporary masts whilst appropriate permanent sites are found has particularly concerned some local communities.
 We take this very seriously, and aim to communicate as openly as possible about Airwave's benefits, where masts need to be sited, and the state of research into radio technology and health, to ensure O2 Airwave lives up to its responsibilities as a partner within the local community.
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O2 Airwave – providing communication when and where it matters most |
| O2 Airwave is building and operating a state-of-the-art secure communications service for the police forces of England, Scotland and Wales and a range of other public safety users. |
| This service, known simply as 'Airwave', is being developed under a £2.9 billion private finance initiative – the largest PFI contract of its kind. |
| Airwave is underpinned by a network of some 3,300 masts – over two-thirds of which have already been built. |
| Airwave provides seamless national radio coverage, even in remote areas or places where other communications systems do not function well or at all. It will enable public safety agencies to communicate more efficiently with one another, and across administrative boundaries. |
As a secure, resilient system, Airwave is allowing police forces and other public safety users to respond quickly and operate more safely, without risk of interception.
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 A genuine community service
O2 Airwave is a unique business and commercially important to us. But it complements our overall corporate responsibility strategy – using innovative technology to bring real social benefits in terms of improved security and public safety.
Other emergency services are considering using the service too. O2 Airwave has been short-listed to supply communications to Fire Brigades and Ambulance Trusts across England, Wales and Scotland.
If adopted nationally by these two, the Airwave service will allow all the police, fire and ambulance services to communicate effectively with one another for the first time. One important lesson from recent security scares and major incidents is that it is vital that these three services can co-ordinate their response and stay in constant touch.
Airwave is also being used by the British Transport Police, the Royal Military Police, the Highways Agency, the Prison Service, and the UK Atomic Energy Authority constabulary amongst a range of other licensed public safety users.
A highly capable technology
Airwave boosts public safety because it gives key public safety personnel complete national coverage and digital quality call clarity for the first time. It enables different agencies to communicate with each other and across administrative boundaries. Its special emergency call button means that police officers and other users can call for back up quickly when under threat.
Users can send data across the network too; for example, police officers can use it to access the Police National Computer to carry out checks. Ambulance crews can keep in close contact with Accident and Emergency units so that life saving treatment can begin at the scene of an accident.
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Investing in safer communities
O2 Airwave is seeking to be active in the communities where it operates and, during the year, we launched a community investment programme focusing on the theme of safety among young people.
Our lead initiative is LookAlive, a community project, run in conjunction with Cornwall County Council, which aims to help primary school children become more aware of road safety.
We are also supporting the establishment of non-emergency phone lines for use by the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and sponsoring the training of police dogs initially in Nottinghamshire. Our most recent initiative is support for the Kent People's Trust, an organisation running diversionary schemes for young people.
Responding to worries on health
Unlike standard mobile networks the Airwave service uses terrestrial trunked radio (Tetra) technology, a standard in use extensively around the world for logistics and security purposes. There are public concerns that TETRA could have harmful health effects.
However, O2 Airwave is required to comply with guidelines laid down by the independent International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). We operate thousands of times below these guideline limits.
 The overwhelming scientific consensus is that there is no risk to health from Tetra where the guidelines are complied with. However, we recognise that much more still needs to be done to reassure local communities with health worries. Hence we recently launched a video presented by Crimewatch's Nick Ross, which includes interviews with leading experts such as the UK Medical Research Council's Professor Colin Blakemore. The video is being used to support our consultation efforts.
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| Message from Managing Director | What is O2 Airwave | Community Service | Technology | Investment | Health | Environmental concerns | Key data |
Addressing environmental concerns
We must respond openly when concerns are expressed about the roll-out of our network and the technology underpinning it.
The pace of O2 Airwave's network development has been rapid and we recognise that some are concerned about the siting of our masts in their communities and in places of natural beauty, like national parks or other remote areas.
Because the network has to provide seamless radio coverage across England, Scotland and Wales it is inevitable that there will occasionally be concerns about mast locations.
Moreover, the requirement to provide coverage against challenging timelines means we have had to use a small number of sites temporarily – using emergency planning powers where planning consents have been delayed or refused – whilst permanent locations are sought.
O2 Airwave abides by the industry's Ten Commitments on mast siting and we operate a consultation programme called Goldstar that involves briefings for local and regional policymakers and representatives of local communities.
Examples of intensive local consultation include the recent completion of the network on the Gower peninsula in South Wales, where countless meetings took place with councillors, Welsh Assembly members, Members of Parliament and local campaigners, even extending to the latter being invited to choose appropriate mast sites.
In Scotland, extensive briefings provided to planning officers, Members of the Scottish Parliament, and interest groups have facilitated a build programme that has carried significant community support and very few instances of localised opposition.
We are also conscious of our role in establishing clear policies on the environment and landscape, on waste management and the responsible sourcing of equipment in our supply chain. A key target is to comply with the Group target of certification to the international environmental standard ISO14001 by the end of 2004 – we are on our way to achieving this.
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| Key data for 2003/04 |
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| Business operations |
| Number of police forces covered by the Airwave service: 35 |
| Environment |
CO2 emissions: 7 tonnes1
Electricity sourced from renewable sources: 20%2 |
| Workplace |
Number of employees: over 500 including a small proportion of contractors
Women in senior management: 23%2
Reflect O2 employee engagement survey: 69.5% (+5.5%) |
| Community |
Total community contribution: £51,040
Main areas of involvement: education: 89%, sports by community groups: 3%, other: 8%
Type of contributions: cash: 99%, time 1% |
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1 This figure includes CO2 emissions from buildings and networks, excluding transport related CO2 emissions.
2 Consolidated figure for all UK operations. |
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| Message from Managing Director | What is O2 Airwave | Community Service | Technology | Investment | Health | Environmental concerns | Key data |
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| LOOKING INTO AIRWAVE |
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| Police Forces in England. Scotland and Wales and other emergency services are now using our secure system > |
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| Have we done enough to explain how our technology works and about safety? |
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| in 35 police forces in mainland Britain are now using the O2 Airwave service and we are on the way to supplying all 53 forces across England, Scotland and Wales. |
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