Hytera Communications, a provider of professional communications technologies and solutions, says it has successfully deployed its SmartOne Unified Communication Platform to support the Iraqi Ministry of Interior (MoI) in overhauling Baghdad’s emergency services.
The project, launched in 2024, introduces a centralised 911 emergency call centre – marking what Hytera describes as a pivotal advancement in public safety communications for Iraq’s capital city.
The MoI was previously reliant on a fragmented network of 26 separate emergency numbers. It therefore sought to unify these under a single, cohesive emergency response system.
Hytera’s SmartOne solution integrates various communication technologies—ranging from Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) and TETRA radio systems to body camera feeds – into one platform, enabling seamless coordination between police, fire, and medical services across Baghdad.
DMR is a digital radio standard for voice and data transmission in non-public radio networks. TETRA, a European standard for a trunked radio system, was specifically designed for use by government agencies, emergency services, transport services and the military.
The Hytera solution includes a fully integrated 911 call centre with over 300 operator seats. The platform supports emergency call intake, case creation, real-time situational tracking, and dispatch across multiple agencies. The implementation also features advanced modules such as computer-aided dispatch (CAD), visualised command and GIS mapping, duty and patrol management, incident analytics, and mobile police applications.
Together, says Hytera, these tools significantly improve situational awareness, optimise resource allocation, and reduce emergency response times.
The system’s microservice-based architecture ensures high scalability and resilience, while its data-driven backend allows the MoI to continuously evaluate performance through call logs, incident trends and proactive alerts. These features enable informed decision-making and adaptive strategy development in response to the city’s evolving safety needs.
The platform handled approximately 100,000 calls on its first day of operation and has been shortlisted by the International Critical Communications Awards (ICCAs) 2025 as a finalist for the Best Use of Critical Communications in Public Safety award.
