Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) has advised the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) on a £115m telecoms deal to enable police officers to use their radios throughout the London Underground network.

MoFo London technology partner Alistair Maughan led the team advising PITO.

The deal marks a major upgrade to PITO's current contract with O2 Airwave, linking the network used by the police and other emergency services organisations to London Underground's own digital radio system.

Maughan, who was assisted on the deal by senior associate Reinhard Schu, has advised PITO on the Airwave project since 1996. O2 was advised by its in-house team. Hammonds, led by associate John Little, advised London Underground.

The transaction was made more complex because it had to be linked to a separate deal under which a number of telecoms providers are rolling out a new digital radio station system for London Underground. The series of contracts will see the underground and PITO systems linked, with the Airwave technology expected to be operational throughout the London Underground in 2008.

Maughan said: "We had two freestanding and unrelated PFI contracts for separate things, with different payment models and parties, which we had to bring together."