Maritime Rescue (Salvamento Marítimo) awards Cellnex Telecom the contract for the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System in Spain

Radiocommunications Service for Maritime Rescue

The contract will enter into force in August 2018 and has an initial term of four years, extendable by a further two years, for an annual amount over €7 M. It gives continuity to the service Cellnex Telecom has been providing since 2009

• The company will provide the service through its Network of Coastal Stations which allows 24/7 listening on maritime channels, all year round.
• The contract allows for receiving automatic alerts and distress calls, to be sent immediately to Maritime Rescue coordinators, as well as transmitting information for maritime safety and meteorological information, according to the guidelines established by Maritime Rescue and the connection between the Spanish Medical Radio Centre and any ships requesting that service.
• In 2009 Cellnex Telecom installed and started up a communications network between the Maritime radio Communications Control Centres (CCR’s), Coastal Stations and Rescue Coordination Centres (CCS’s) of the Sociedad de Salvamento y Seguridad Marítima (Maritime Rescue and Safety Company).
• Spain has a marine area covering 1.5 million km² – three times the national territory -, which must be covered by the Coastal Stations Network.

Barcelona, 28 September 2017. The Maritime Rescue Company under the Spanish Ministry of Public Works, signed the “Provision of services within the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System” for the Safety of Human Life at Sea with Cellnex Telecom on 27 September 2017.

Cellnex will provide the service through its network of Coastal Stations distributed in strategic sites along the Spanish coast in the VHF, MF, HF and Navtex frequency bands.

The Coastal Stations are connected through Cellnex’s national data transmission network to the Maritime Radio Communications Control Centres (CCR), where Maritime Radio Operators, also belonging to Cellnex, provide the “Permanent Listening Service” (24/7): receiving alerts and distress calls, and transferring them to the Rescue Coordination Centres (CCS).

In addition, the service includes broadcasting radio warnings, bulletins and meteorological warnings upon request and under the coordination of Maritime Rescue, interconnection with the Spanish medical radio service for medical consultations from the sea, communications service for radio equipment testing and ships’ inspections.

The Network of Coastal Stations should cover three navigation zones – A1, A2 and A3 – providing VHF band radio coverage in the strip of coastal waters with a width of at least 35 nautical miles (NM) (A1). Furthermore, they must, in the most adverse conditions, guarantee coverage of 150 NM (A2), and Short Wave (HF) coverage on the African coast (A3, a frequent navigation area for the Spanish fleet).

The provision of the service complies with the international conventions signed by Spain, in particular the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention and the International Search and Rescue Convention (SAR), which are the most important international treaties governing ships’ safety.

The Level of Service demanded by Maritime Rescue, with a high degree of continuity and appropriate for a security and emergency service of these characteristics, will also require the drawing up of a comprehensive Service Assurance Plan.

Extensive experience in security and emergency communications networks and services

Cellnex has extensive experience managing security and emergency communications networks and services, and its mobile radiocommunications systems serve more than 80,000 police, firefighters, forest rangers and healthcare personnel throughout Spain.

About Cellnex Telecom

Cellnex is Europe’s leading independent operator of wireless telecommunications infrastructure, with a total portfolio of more than 18,000 sites (at 30 March 2017). Cellnex operates in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, France and the UK. Cellnex closed the second half of 2017 with revenues of € 279 million, EBITDA of € 168 million and a net result of € 19 million.

Cellnex classifies its activities into three areas: Mobile telephony infrastructures; audiovisual broadcasting networks; security and emergency service networks and solutions for smart urban infrastructure and services management (smart cities and the “Internet of Things” (IoT)).The company is listed on the continuous market of the Spanish stock exchange and is part of the selective IBEX 35 and EuroStoxx 600 indices. It is also part of the FTSE4Good sustainability and CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) indices.

Cellnex classifies its activities into three areas: Mobile telephony infrastructures; audiovisual broadcasting networks; security and emergency service networks and solutions for smart urban infrastructure and services management (smart cities and the “Internet of Things” (IoT)).