PMR


Moving towards a unifi ed solution A


n evolution of public safety communica- tions from today’s Tetra mobile radio


system towards a unifi ed network solution combining Tetra with LTE was the topic for Richard Bennett on the Motorola Solutions stand. “Everybody understands why we need Tetra


private mobile radio for public safety; everybody understands mission-critical needs, security, resilience, coverage”, he said. “So we are talking about Tetra with TEDS and LTE working together. You create your own secure private data network for public safety and it gives you control of the operations around that network. So as opposed to having a commercial network which you are kind of using for public safety, over-the-top or just having a roaming agree- ment, it gives you complete control over what is going on. “If you build a Tetra network now, you need


to make sure it’s future-proof, future-ready. And that might mean having a physical network that’s built with LTE and Tetra in mind – you would have dual base station sites, so you have the ability to use the same mast or base site for Tetra and LTE. “When we talk about public safety LTE, we’re


not just talking about a dedicated network. We are talking about a public safety core which gives you the ability to do things like multimedia talk groups, resource tracking – and it gives you the kind of functionality you would expect from a Tetra system. So it’s not just an LTE system – it’s public safety LTE with LTE core.


PMR


Richard Bennett, from Motorola Solutions, discusses combining Tetra with LTE networks “Everything you would expect from a Tetra


network, you can get from an LTE network with a dedicated public safety LTE core. For example, we have a partnership with Ericsson on LTE. One of my Ericsson colleagues talks about LTE being like a six-lane motorway. If it is commercial LTE, all six lanes could be jam-packed. If you have public safety LTE, you have the ability to put the blue lights on a message, clear the traffi c and send it straight through! And that’s why you need a dedicated public safety LTE core. Already Motorola Solutions is pursuing this


approach in the US, where it has been awarded seven of the fi rst nine contracts for public safety LTE deployments. “The one that is probably the most progressed is Harris County, which


is Houston, in Texas”, Mr Bennett said. “As I understand it, the urban area is covered by the public safety LTE network whereas the more ru- ral area of the county is covered by Verizon’s LTE network. So it’s about giving you that coverage. “I see it working that way in most places. You


could basically run a Tetra network, implement the public safety LTE core, plug it into a com- mercial network and then you could add your own dedicated public safety network at a later stage. So there will defi nitely be an evolution. I think most people will take a commercial network partner fi rst and then build their own dedicated network. I think there’s going to be some caution. And also, spectrum: commercial spectrum is going to be available fi rst.”


Digital radios for front-of-house users O


n the DMR side, Motorola featured its compact SL4000 radio, the newest addi- tion to the MotoTrbo product family. “We de- signed this as an alternative form-factor, to be thin and light”, explained Sean Fitzgerald. “Ini- tially the intention was for front-of-house type users in hospitality, retail – those sorts of places. But actually, we’ve seen since launch that manag- ers, often, or supervisors – where they are coming into contact with either an offi ce environ- ment, or, particularly, with customers and clients – they don’t want the old, conven- tional, chunky form-factor.


“It’s fully featured, so it meets all of the DMR functionality that our stand- ard radios meet, apart from that it’s dig- ital only. All of our other MotoTrbo radios are dual analogue and digital, but to help with the miniaturization of this one,


LAND mobile January 2013


it’s digital only, and it’s reduced power – it’s only two watts. It’s primarily intended for indoor use. But the sensitivity is higher as well, so actually the range reduction is not so much as the power re- duction would imply.” For applications which involve job-ticketing,


Motorola has included a fi ve-line colour dis- play which can convey more information than the usual two or four-line radio display. Other features are built-in texting, with pre-programmed or free-form messages, a shortened antenna which makes the ra- dio look more like a mobile phone, and


Bluetooth. “We’ve got our own specialized Blue- tooth earpieces which are intended


for faster PTT response, but you can use just a standard, off -the- shelf earpiece”, Mr Fitzgerald adds.


Sean Fitzgerald, of Motorola Solutions, with the ‘front of house’ MotoTrbo SL4000 series radio. Left: an SL4000 radio charging with its spare battery


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