Dolphin drowns despite health report

NEWS Dolphin Telecom, a provider of mobile communication systems used by many public services, has filed for bankruptcy. Dolphin is one of only three companies with the capacity to build terrestrial trunk radio (Tetra) networks in the UK. The controversial Tetra standard is designed for use by the emergency services. However, the standard has attracted controversy from many directions, not least because the standard interferes with medical equipment. That lead to the ambulance service threatening to abandon the standard. Last year Dolphin lost a battle with BT subsidiary Quadrant for a £2.5bn project to build the Airwave mobile radio network. The system is being trialled in parts of Lanchashire prior to a nationwide launch. The contract was criticised by the European Union, as the government's decision to specify the Tetra standard restricted the number of potential bidders. There have also been health concerns, and ironically the news of Dolphin's insolvency came just a day before the National Radiological Protection Board gave Tetra a clean bill of health, rejecting the findings of an earlier report that using Tetra equipment could be harmful. The company has blamed funding problems for the decision to seek bankruptcy protection. The company's French arm has insisted that the announcement would not affect it, though it has had trouble rolling its network coverage out enough to meet licence requirements.