RNLI overhauls communications

Contract with Arqiva will replace 7,000 pagers

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is to replace 7,000 pagers which form a critical part of its emergency lifeboat call-out system.

Under the managed service contract, Arqiva will source, acquire, test and maintain the Swissphone pagers and provide training to RNLI staff and volunteers at over 230 lifeboat stations across the UK and Ireland.

The three-year deal is an extension of Arqiva’s exiting seven-year contract to support the RNLI’s paging infrastructure, having already created the original full communications infrastructure.

Brian Faulkner, radio communications manager at the RNLI, said: ‘Pagers are the cornerstone of RNLI communications and Arqiva understands our specific and mission critical needs. Arqiva is able to supply and manage the best possible solution, ensuring that we have reliable, secure communications for our lifeboats and stations.’

The RNLI will make use of Arqiva’s National Maintenance Centre, a purpose-built testing facility in Leeds, where all its pagers will be specifically configured and tested prior to introduction at the lifeboat stations.

Pagers will also be maintained, repaired and replaced at the centre.

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