On May 2, the Ministry of Internal Administration and the Ministry of Infrastructure announced the formation, as of April 30, of a “technical and multi-sector task force with the mission of developing, within a maximum of 90 days, a technical-strategic study for the urgent replacement of the Integrated System of Emergency and Security Networks (SIRESP).”
The measure came after the exclusive communications network of the Portuguese State for command, control, and coordination of communications in all emergency and safety situations failed during the power blackout on April 28 this year.
Contacted today, the Government declined to clarify whether the deadline for completing the study, which ends this week, will be extended.
On July 24, an order was published in the Official Gazette signed by the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, and the Minister of Internal Administration, Maria Lúcia Amaral, appointing Carlos Leitão as the coordinator of the working group, with July 17 as the starting date in office.
The document was the only appointment for the team’s coordination published in the official newspaper of the Portuguese Republic since the establishment of the team, ordered by the previous Government, also led by the current Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro.
According to the attached resume, Carlos Leitão, 63, holds a degree in Electronic Engineering, Telecommunications and Computers from the Lisbon Higher Institute of Engineering and was the technical director of SIRESP, SA, where he served from 2006 to 2024.
SIRESP, S.A. is the public company that commands and coordinates the SIRESP network.
The team tasked with urgently studying the replacement of SIRESP includes representatives from the Agency for the Integrated Management of Rural Fires (AGIF), the National Communications Authority (ANACOM), the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), the Armed Forces General Staff, the GNR, the PSP, and the INEM, among other entities.
The “analysis of the current model of governance, technological architecture, and infrastructure of SIRESP,” the proposal of an alternative model, and the “inclusion of the public alert component in the proposed solution, based on Cell Broadcast technology” are among the tasks assigned to the working group, according to the order that constituted it.
