Work on the system began in 1995, when the Norwegian Board of Health Supervision took the initiative to create a new mobile telecommunications platform. The issue was coordinated by the Ministry of Justice and was first discussed at political level in 1997. A project group was created in 1998. In 2001, a pilot project was launched in Trondheim, involving all three agencies. The trial was a success and was completed in June 2003. Later that year, the Norwegian Parliament made the major decision to establish the network. Quality control of the project was completed in June 2004 and construction was estimated at NOK 3.6 billion.[1].
The procurement process was initially led by the Ministry of Justice and Police, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Sanitary Services, the National Directorate of Police, the Directorate of Health and Social Affairs and the Directorate of Civil Protection and Emergency Planning.[5] The public tender was launched in May 2005 and on December 22, 2006 the contract was signed with Nokia Siemens Networks. The project is the largest information technology contract ever awarded in Norway.[1]The Emergency Communications Directorate was created on April 1, 2007.[5].
Original plans called for the system to be built between 2007 and 2011. Implementation was planned in six phases, numbered zero through five. Between phases zero and one, a process evaluation was planned[5].
In June 2007, the project was half a year behind schedule. One of the main delays to the project has been the development of software for healthcare communication centers, which include emergency rooms, accident rooms, emergency dispatch centers and air coordination centers. The system is being developed by Frequentis in Austria, which has stated that it has not received sufficient specifications. In December 2009, the state granted an additional NOK 110 million for the development of the system. Therefore, healthcare workers will start using the network in May 2010, after the police and fire brigade in Follo and Østfold. Representatives of the Police Directorate have criticized the implementation model, stating that in most other countries, the system was first implemented only for the police and was later used by firefighters and ambulance services. For example, the Østfold police district installed a new center in February 2008, but had to wait 21 months to put it into operation while waiting for public safety radio.[7].
The Police Directorate considers the use of encrypted communication to be the greatest advantage of the system and has stated that it sees no reason to stop the implementation while it is evaluated, and that there is no alternative to its nationwide implementation. The system was first launched in Østfold and Follo in December 2009, and in Oslo in March 2010.[7] In Oslo, the police decided to close the analogue network before the TETRA system was installed in all vehicles and instead provided all officers with wearable devices to accelerate the closure of the old network, which is considered a security risk. Traditionally, journalists have learned about events by listening to police radios. The police have appointed press officers who will inform the media about newsworthy incidents.[8] The alarm center of the Østfold and Follo fire brigades began using the system in June 2010.[9].
In August 2010, the health emergency communication centers in Østfold and the emergency room at Fredrikstad Hospital began using the system. These were followed by the emergency rooms in Halden and Aremark, in Rakkestad and Sarpsborg, and in Oslo. In the health sector, phase zero covered 40 communication centers, of which 20 were emergency rooms, 16 hospital emergency rooms, an air ambulance coordination center and three health emergency communication centers, in addition to the radios of the 150 ambulances that provide service in the region.[10].
The official inauguration of the network took place on August 17, 2010.[11]In October 2010, Arne Johannesen, leader of the Norwegian Police Federation, stated that he wanted to suspend construction of the radio network and instead use funding for a new information technology system for the police, called D#2.[12].
DNK conducted tests with the system in 2010 for firefighters using self-contained breathing apparatus on structural fires, and found the system sufficient. The Oslo Fire Department conducted similar tests later that year and concluded that the radio system was insufficient for its needs. The Oslo Fire Department concluded that the DNK tests were only successful due to the use of additional directional gateway/repeater radio equipment. For this reason, Oslo firefighters continued to use the old ultra-high frequency radios during indoor fires.[13]Both the Norwegian Police Security Service's bodyguard service and the royal family's protection service have opted not to use the new radio system, citing poor indoor and ground coverage, even in central Oslo. The services have stated that this does not allow interoperability with other agencies, which is a drawback in the event of serious incidents.[14] Also the joint rescue coordination centres, the Norwegian Air Ambulance and 330 Squadron, which operates Westland Sea King search and rescue helicopters, have chosen not to use the system due to poor coverage. During the 2011 attacks in Utøya, located in the north of Buskerud, police officers from the surrounding districts were unable to communicate with the local police because the area did not have TETRA coverage.[4].