Nokia said Monday it has been selected to roll out a TETRA mobile network in 
Belgium for A.S.T.R.I.D. The network, already launched in East Flanders, will 
now be extended to all ten Belgian provinces.

A.S.T.R.I.D. was set up in 1998 to operate the network on the behalf of Belgian 
public safety organizations. It remains state-owned. 

The Council of Ministers in June 1998 chose the KNT consortium as the sole 
supplier for the network; main contractors include Nokia and network integrator 
Telindus. Nokia will supply switches, base stations and a network management 
system.

"The TETRA network we are building for A.S.T.R.I.D. [comes] with full Internet 
Protocol packet data capabilities," claimed Hans Holmberg, vice president, 
Nokia Networks. "It is an example of how modern professional mobile radio 
systems can be implemented on a countrywide basis for use by an entire range of 
public authorities."