"Does a met office police officer need to be able to talk to the fire brigade in Aberdeen?"
Absolutely. National interoperability, and cross-operations with the likes of TfL is one of the key features of Airwave. A met officer talking to a firefighter in Aberdeen might seem contrived, but it's far more likely than you'd think. It is standard practice during times of crisis for police forces to deploy into each others' areas of operation. We've unfortunately seen it time and time and time again in recent years. The same goes for our fire and ambulance services.
More routinely, specialist officers in larger forces will frequently operate outside of their area of responsibility. For example it's common to see City of London police nowhere near the City of London, as they're the national leads for economic crime. Likewise for the Met and counter-terror ops. Or for BTP.
It's a requirement that has been proven as necessary multiple times, and unhelpfully forgotten in this blind push for 4G.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
