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TETRA WORLD CONGRESS

The news, the issues and the products in our special

report from Budapest

www.wireless-mag.com

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BUDAPEST proved to be a hit with exhibitors and visitors alike

as the host city for the 2011 TETRA World Congress. The Asian contingent was thin on the ground, but that was compensated for by the large numbers of East European visitors eager to find out what benefits TETRA networks could bring them.

All the exhibitors Wireless talked to said visitor numbers were more than healthy, while the volume and quality of enquiries was good. Phil Godfrey, chairman of the TETRA Association, commented: ‘This is certainly one of the most vibrant Congress events and there is a real buzz this year. The record number of attendees demonstrates that the TETRA industry is buoyant even in these difficult economic times and our market growth remains remarkably resilient.’

Tough economic climateThe latest figures from the TETRA Association support that view. It reports that record volumes of TETRA devices were shipped in 2010. The Association

also says that infrastructure has grown by 6% in terms of new deployments and by over 8% when significant network expansions are included.

Those figures seem to be borne out by the exhibitors Wireless spoke to at the Congress, virtually all of whom said business was good despite the tough global economic climate, with the Middle East, Asia and even Africa for some, proving to be rapidly expanding markets.

That said, a common theme among exhibitors was the need to respond to customer requests for help in reducing the cost of running TETRA networks. A number of solutions were on show, including base stations with greatly reduced power consumption, repeaters using software-defined radio

for hardware-free upgrades and multi-functional antennas.

Future technologyBut the biggest question on everyone’s lips was over next generation technology: what will succeed or

complement TETRA in the future, particularly when it comes to

providing more sophisticated data applications and hi-res

video? And indeed, the Congress’

plenary session was largely devoted to this question.

Talking to various

exhibitors at the Congress,

it is clear that there are a variety

of views as to what will come next and how best to get there. Everyone agrees that if hi-res video becomes a mission critical application, then some kind of

broadband platform will be required. Whether the future requires two separate but interoperable platforms for voice and high-speed data or a single platform is up for debate. Equally vexed is the issue of whether the broadband platform should be on private public safety spectrum or whether commercial networks can be used.

Vital featuresAlcatel-Lucent’s executive VP of public sector markets Matthieu Coutière is in no doubt that public safety organisations will move onto LTE for voice and data applications (see TETRA over LTE feature on p34). ‘LTE has been created for the mass market so it can obviously do voice. But policeman are happy with TETRA voice terminals, it’s proven, so they are worried about having to rely on a new technology like LTE,’ he says.

Tom Quirke, Motorola Solutions VP and general manager, global TETRA organisation, begs to differ (see p29). In his view, TETRA has built up so many vital features that the LTE standard

TWC REPORT

Budapest’s Hungexpo centre proved a popular location for this year’s TETRA World Congress. Read our 11-page report on the buzz, new products and interviews with key players. By James Atkinson

TETRA World Congress a hit in Budapest

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Emergency response The TETRA Forum Hungary staged a ‘car crash’ outside the Hungexpo centre where police, fire and ambulance services managed the situation using TETRA communications

would have to bend out of all shape to accommodate the necessary mission critical voice requirements. In addition, commercial mobile operators are not set up to meet emergency service priorities.

Instead, Quirke argues private spectrum needs to be found for broadband services and then integrated with a TETRA or P25 voice service. ‘Everything slaves off the mission critical voice network, which is TETRA, so you need a very tight integration with the broadband network into the mission critical voice network,’ he says.

Andrea Biraghi, senior VP and deputy director for the professional communication systems business unit at SELEX Elsag, seems to agree. ‘New needs are emerging from customers, especially the requirement to transmit large amounts of data. The TETRA standard is not suitable for this. So we need to solve the problem and investigate how we do this.

‘We’ve heard a lot of possibilities, such as LTE or WiMAX, that could be added to TETRA. But I think TETRA remains the best solution for intrinsically safe, mission critical voice transmission. Other standards such as LTE can be

added for transmitting large amounts of data. This is good because it can solve the problem without too great a cost to the customer, as it is not too complicated to put these two technologies together to solve the issue,’ says Biraghi.

Cost savingReturning to the theme of cost saving, Biraghi makes an interesting suggestion as to how governments can save money on public safety communications. ‘At SELEX we think that maybe the solution can be the integration of two different standards for voice: TETRA in dense urban areas and DMR in rural areas. Maybe the combination of these two standards could allow us to make networks that are compatible with investment budgets, which are available now from governments. For us, one of the big challenges will be the dual use of DMR and TETRA. We are a leader in both technologies, so it is the interoperability between the two systems that needs to be solved.’

Biraghi is dubious that all the applications available to mobile smartphones, including the ability to stream hi-res video on large display screens, can be crammed into a single

ruggedised device capable of meeting the demands of police and firemen. Thales clearly doesn’t agree, as it launched its WiMAX-based ruggedised push to talk device at the Congress (see p30).

Others at the Congress were also keen to try and identify the way the technology was moving. Jyrki Koski, CEO of repeater manufacturer Creowave, was singing the virtues of software-defined radio (SDR), as a way of preparing for the future.

‘SDR provides flexibility for end users,’ says Koski. ‘Operators can future proof themselves by using our repeaters and if they need to change the frequency they use to meet the requirements of new technology we can provide new software without the need to replace the hardware. So, they can invest now with the confidence that they will not have to second guess how the industry will evolve technologically speaking.’

New productsDAMM showcased its latest indoor base station, the BS411 (see p36), as well as demonstrating its ability to install an advanced TETRA communications system in just 30 minutes, from unpacking the hardware components

to installation and getting the full communications system up and running.

ETSA, which manufactures amplifiers, repeaters, passive equipments and instrumentation tools, was promoting two new products on the Congress: its 2W UHF frequency programmable transmitter - PMOD510001; and its associated receiver, the programmable TETRA Portable System – PMOD510007. Both products can be used to create mapping of TETRA networks. The receiver can also be used as a standalone tool for taking measurements and investigating the coverage issues. Its sensitivity goes down to 120dBm and up to -30dBm. It is intended to measure an RF level and the SNR between this level and the RF noise floor.

Finally, Sepura was showing off its new ATEX STP8X handset (see p36) as well as promoting its Radio Manager 2 – the upgrade of its radio programming and management tool. The new interface makes navigation quicker and is designed with a look and feel of a PC. The new application programming interface enables a wide variety of third party applications, such as asset databases or access control systems, to interface directly with Radio Manager 2.

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COMMUNICATIONFOR THOSE CRITICAL MOMENTS

TETRA SOLUTIONS

TETRA Solutions from the Market Leader. In more than 100 countries around the world, people rely on our TETRA infrastructure, radios, services and applications to help them communicate. Ground crew preparing an aircraft for fast turnaround. Engineers working in hazardous environments. Police officers keeping our streets safe.

Keeping people in touch – and safe – where and when it matters.

To learn how Motorola TETRA Solutions can help you, contact your Motorola representative or visit www.motorolasolutions.com/tetra.

MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC and are used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2011 Motorola, Inc. All rights reserved.

Generic_TETRA_advert.indd 1 7/7/11 15:58:44

Motorola Solutions had its full portfolio of tEtra-based

products on display in Budapest, as well as unveiling its tEtra rF automated Coverage Evaluation System (traCES) and Dimetra Sr 8.0 tEtra platform software release.

Speaking to Wireless at the tEtra World Congress, tom Quirke, VP and general manager of the tEtra products and solutions organisation at Motorola Solutions, explained how the company is responding to market demands by addressing the needs of niche segments, reducing costs and developing next generation technology.

‘one of the main changes we see is that one size does not fit all,’ he says. ‘ten years ago you’d develop a radio for the blue light brigade, but now multiple verticals such as oil and gas, transportation, hotels and resorts are also using tEtra and they too are exerting a voice.

‘treating a segment like the police as one monolithic block is wrong,’ continues Quirke. ‘there is a segmentation inside that audience; detectives have a different set of requirements to traffic police, for instance. Different parts of the police surround their radio with a set of accessories. So, we are saying shouldn’t the radio tie in to the specific needs of the sub-segments?’

addressing the needs of niche audiences is one task facing manufacturers, but another critical one at the moment is helping customers reduce their costs.

In tEtra systems, 75% of the cost is derived from the operational costs of running the network. on show at Budapest were two solutions from Motorola, the Dimetra Sr 8.0 software and the traCES application, both of which are designed to enhance the efficiency of networks and reduce running costs (see box).

Motorola has also increased receiver sensitivity on one of its key radios. Quirke says: ‘the radio can hear the signal better over noise. If you can provide a radio with a greater range, better building coverage and

better quality within the cell area then you might actually be able to reduce the number of cell sites needed, so that saves money.’

on the subject of the next generation of public safety, Quirke is clear that while tEtra can provide numerous short data applications, and will provide more with tEDS (including low-res video), it will never provide hi-res video, so a broadband solution will be needed.

He sees more and more data applications being used, and provided they are not mission critical, believes

these can be run on a commercial network. However, once these applications become mission critical, commercial networks will not be robust, resilient or secure enough to be relied upon by public safety organisations.

that means either a single combined voice and data network or two different, but private public safety networks are needed. the US has designated some spectrum and opted for the latter solution.

Quirke believes that Europe also needs to find private spectrum to run public safety broadband services, but warns: ‘We have to make a really compelling case to regulators at a national level and then at a European level to ensure we have harmonised spectrum made available at the right frequency to allow a decent rollout.’

twc report - motorola

• Dimetra Sr 8.0: a new software release for Motorola’s tEtra system platform that is designed to reduce power consumption by up to 60% with its next generation tEtra platform. It will also help customers cope with space-constrained installations and provides increased resilience, capacity, lower running costs and streamlined system upgrades and maintenance. It can also connect to non-tEtra networks, including ltE.• traceS: the tEtra rF automated Coverage Evaluation System (traCES) allows operators to automatically collect, visualise and evaluate data from across their network through Motorola end-user radios. It will cut down on drive-testing and allow operators to identify network coverage issues more quickly and more effectively.

tetra systeMs

cutting edge motorola unveiled its tetra portfolio at twc

motorola chose the twc to unveil products designed to enhance networks and save customers money. By James atkinson

enhancing the tetra network proposition

‘We have to make a compelling case to regulators to ensure we have spectrum available at the right frequency’tom Quirke, Motorola Solutions

029-Wire-10.indd 1 28/07/2011 11:28

THE PMR world is busily debating how the voice capabilities of

TETRA networks can be combined with the media-rich data services now available on commercial smartphones. Ideally, voice and broadband data services would be available on a single device.

Thales chose the TETRA World Congress to unveil just such a device. The company’s Every Talk ruggedised PDA combines voice with multimedia services.

Sebastian Sabatier, strategy and marketing manager for PMR activities at Thales, says at the launch: ‘If you push one button you can send a real-time video to command and control, share information or locate a colleague. You can also get face recognition, fingerprint, eye recognition, e-fine and e-payments services, which you cannot do on narrowband devices. And we have included all the TETRA voice features in the voice application layer.’

The device uses Thales’ TeMax solution, a communication system acting as an ‘application booster’ over a standard TETRA network. TeMax provides broadband connectivity to enable the integration of multimedia applications and the exchange of large volumes of data.

Thales is using a WiMAX solution to provide broadband capability.

Core networkThales is also using commercial off-the-shelf technology to allow the end user to have access to large economies of scale technology and so get the benefit of rapid technology evolution. It is working with Samsung to provide access to 4G base station technology and Cisco for access to part of the core network.

Sabatier explains: ‘We can adapt this off-the-shelf technology to meet mission critical priorities, including maintaining security, confidentiality and integrity. We can provide all the different level of TETRA features such as pre-emptive calling and 15 different levels of priority call, emergency call and call setup. It takes exactly the same time to set up a group call – 250 milliseconds.

‘It can be set up as a private network. We are a systems integrator, so we can set it up as a complement to an existing legacy network, so you have a broadband solution on top of a P25 or TETRA network.’

Thales believes that in future all users will want data applications, but with voice as well. ‘We cannot imagine that a policeman will want

to have a voice radio that does not give him access to video. In 10 years there will be one platform, but they will not want to carry two devices,’ says Sabatier.

The Every Talk PDA is designed to be independent of any frequency and manages four radio wave forms: WiMAX, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and integrated GPS, and by the beginning of next year Thales will integrate the LTE wave form in a dual-mode chipset. The antenna is completely integrated into the PDA so it works with TETRA narrowband and broadband.

The one major stumbling block as far as public safety professionals are concerned is the mediocre battery life. The Every Talk PDA does not work like two-way radios with 5% talk, 5% receive and 90% standby. It needs to communicate with the network the whole time for broadband.

At present, Thales claims that the Every Talk can work for a full four hours of constant communication, but up to 12 hours of normal daily usage. The company admits it cannot compare with narrowband equipment at the moment. But Thales has developed a device that allows a spare battery to be charged up without being in the PDA.

TWC REPORT - THALES

Every Talk is the fi rst ruggedised PDA to add broadband capability to PMR networks. James Atkinson reports

‘If you push one button you can send a real-time video to command and control or locate a colleague. You can also get face recognition, fi ngerprint and eye recognition’Sebastian Sabatier, Thales

Thales launches WiMAX push to talk ruggedised device

PMR The Every Talk PDA measures 66x132x23mm and weighs 210g. It features a 3.2-inch touch-screen, two-megapixel front and back cameras and conforms to public safety standards IP54

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THALES’S TEMAX SOLUTIONA step forward in mobile radio enabling broadband applications for mission critical users

Advertorial

The future of professional mobile radio (PMR) involves not only voice communication and text messaging, but also multimedia services such as data, images, video, live feeds, face recognition and database queries. Thanks to its TeMax broadband solution, Thales offers all these services.Indeed, TeMax is a full broadband end-to-end solution including both, the network infrastructure (base station and core network) as well as terminals. During the 2011 Tetra World Congress, Thales unveiled its fi rst broadband ruggedized Push-To-Talk terminal.

New services are the name of the game. Over the past ten years, PMR and LMR (land mobile radio) systems used by public safety and law enforcement professionals all over the world, have migrated to digital technologies, paving the way for rich media transmissions. TeMax has the potential to completely transform the way PMR is used by public safety and security professionals, that are mainly using voice, short messages and low data rate services. Indeed, in an effort to better assess a fi eld situation, design a response scenario and coordinate actions, mission critical users have an increasing need to exchange varied multimedia data streams on a dedicated, secured and resilient PMR network.

TeMax is an innovative broadband communicationsystem acting as an “application booster” over standard TETRA network.

• TeMax is to PMR networks what 4G is to consumer GSM networks. TeMax offers PMR communications with industry standard PTT (push to talk) features, interoperable with TETRA networks, as well as live video feeds of up to 2 Mbits/s per user.

• TeMax uses WiMAX as well as LTE (Long Term volution) base stations on a Thales IP distributed architecture. With major investments committed to these radio network technologies, TeMax users will take benefi ts from a large eco-system that is set for long-term growth.

A smooth migration path

From the start, Thales made the choice of developing its TETRA PMR offer based on full IP technology. This deliberate choice allows customers to easily migrate towards TeMax as they are building on their existing core networks.

As a matter of fact, a number of major customers, such as the French rail system SNCF, South Africa’s King Shaka

Airport in Durban, Jordan Armed Forces and Santo Domingo metro made the decision to invest in TETRA-based Thales PMR systems, with the aim of migrating to TeMax in due course.

Major PMR applications available with TeMax• Real-time video• On-demand access to critical databases from the fi eld• Face recognition• Augmented reality• Push-To-Talk services• Video recording and streaming on demand• Blue-Force Tracking

For more information: www.thalesgroup.com

Photos top Metro Santo Domingo, left Fabrice Gaumont, right Getty images and bottom Bernard Rousseau

publi-juin 2011.indd 1 28/06/11 14:35:30

THE wireless world may not move as fast as the mobile, but there are

plenty of technology changes coming down the line that both vendors and customers will have to deal with. ‘In the repeater world it is very important to be future proof,’ says Håkan Samuelsson, founder and CTO of repeater manufacturer Axell Wireless.

‘If you are talking about the present TETRA system, in-building coverage and the trend towards TEDS, then maybe the bandwidth of the repeater channels needs to be changed because of the higher data rates used by TEDS,’ says Samuelsson.

The company’s software-defined radio technology (SDR) allows it to refresh the software on its repeaters, which makes it an attractive proposition for its customers as they do not need to buy new hardware.

Samuelsson says: ‘Repeater installations need to be changed in the future and with SDR we can simply download new software and make the functionality of the repeater correspond to the new challenges. But we don’t need to do any hardware upgrades, which is one of the major benefits of the new system.’

Axell Wireless showed off its new BSR438 digital band selective TETRA repeater in Budapest, which is the latest model to use the company’s SDR and digital filtering technology (see p37).

Samuelsson reports that Axell is adding

new capabilities to its existing product line and is also increasing the number of bandwidth variants. The latter is partly to do with the fact that each European country deploying TETRA has slightly different rules or decisions on how to divide the band.

‘Since each country has slightly different policies they want repeaters specially configured for their purposes,’ says Samuelsson. ‘We can do that by configuring the software or in future we can download new software to make the changes.’

In-building coverage is an increasingly large issue for TETRA networks and that is working to Axell Wireless’ advantage,’ say Samuelsson.

‘In the beginning TETRA was an outdoor network and if in-building coverage was needed they used direct mode operation. But customers are aware that some TETRA features are lost when you move from the basic network and start talking directly between two mobiles. So users are requesting full coverage in buildings and repeaters are a more economic solution than installing base stations,’ points out Samuelsson.

‘For larger venues, like a metro or shopping mall, the amount of traffic being generated means you should have more capacity, but you may also need to distribute the signal over a wide area and one base station won’t do that. You need a combination of base station

and repeaters, so we need each other,’ argues Samuelsson.

In his view, if fixed in-building coverage solutions are being installed for public safety reasons, it makes sense to try and combine that effort with the expansion of cellular networks, as this might save a lot of money. ‘If you go into a building to install new antennas, why not try to combine different systems at the same time?’ asks Samuelsson.

Samuelsson says the message he is

hearing is that TETRA will remain the standard for public safety mission critical voice communication, but the need for high data rate connections will be done using other standards such as broadband. ‘The requirement then is to connect everything together somehow,’ he says.

Despite the poor economic outlook, Samuelsson says Axell is finding good market prospects in public safety, industrial and metro applications. ‘There are fewer projects, but bigger ones,’ he says. Adding or boosting in-building coverage is another growth area.

‘We are one of the few players who have products and solutions that cover everything from very low frequencies, broadcast frequencies, public safety frequencies and all the way up to cellular applications,’ says Samuelsson.

TWC REPORT - AXELL WIRELESS

Good prospects Axell Wireless’ solutions are in demand

Software-defi ned radio technology is helping to future proof repeaters, Axell Wireless’ Håkan Samuelsson tells James Atkinson

‘Repeater installations need to be changed in the future and with SDR we can download new software’Håkan Samuelsson, Axell Wireless

The brave new world of SDR repeaters

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The headache of how to integrate hi-res broadband data services with

TeTRA’s narrowband voice services is preoccupying everyone in the industry, not least the UK’s public safety TeTRA network operator Airwave.

Speaking to Wireless at the TeTRA World Congress in Budapest, Airwave CTO euros evans says: ‘The big driver and focus for us is what happens next from a technical perspective and how do we get there? It is important to start with a vision of the future world.’

One option is to deliver fast broadband data services using LTe. The question then is; how do you deliver future voice services? ‘Some say they are developing mission critical voice, but you have to understand what you mean by mission critical voice before you can put a timeline on it. The devil is in the detail,’ says evans.

he points out that a number of european countries have had TeTRA networks for over 10 years. ‘But in another five years time is it realistic to expect these organisations to still have the same infrastructure in place for their core business?’

When that replacement point is reached the key consideration will be how they deliver voice and data services for public safety. ‘If you think you can afford to build two networks and can find the spectrum to run two networks on, that’s a great solution, but a very luxurious one. I don’t see the world like that. I see the future world as one where mission critical voice and data are combined on one platform,’ says evans.

There are a number of challenges

that would need to be solved, such as the lack of direct mode operation on LTe, but in evans’ view the industry as a whole has to take on the challenges of solving the issues in the interest of providing one network that can deliver public safety communications and data at the right cost.

‘In mission critical situations having voice is fundamental, but let’s not kid ourselves, the future will involve a lot more data,’ says evans. But he argues that not all public safety organisations will need 2MB on tap for video downloading all the time.

evans advocates providing voice coverage everywhere, but prioritising the position of network sites around a risk profile of areas based on their likely data requirements. Dense urban areas will need a lot of capacity, but sensitive sites such as nuclear power stations, oil and gas terminals and military bases are also likely to need more capacity.

‘We should be able to target where we put additional data capacity and be able to respond quickly by providing a step increase in capacity locally. In an ideal world, you’d want the users

to deploy that capacity rather than Airwave,’ says evans. ‘I am advocating a shaded map where you have national voice coverage, but also the shaded areas that shows the data capacity and bandwidth available.’

evans warns that the industry has to start the journey today to define the technology that gives that combined voice and data capability, so that when customers reach the point of adopting it the industry is ready with the right technology.

‘We’ve been active since last year in talking to our customers and the respective government bodies on how we see the technology changing and with other operator communities to try and bring a consensus view. The key thing is to get to a consensus which brings the industry forward as a whole and creates the next platform,’ he concludes.

twc report - airwave

Shaded coverage euros evans proposes targeting where to put additional data capacity

airwave’s cto on why the whole industry must work together to prepare the next generation technology. By James atkinson

‘In mission critical situations having voice is fundamental, but let’s not kid ourselves, the future will involve a lot more data’euros evans, Airwave

Preparing for the broadband future

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MATTHIEU Coutière, executive VP of public sector markets at

Alcatel-Lucent, is in no doubt that public safety organisations can be persuaded to switch to an LTE solution for voice communications in the next decade.

It is not an orthodox view and he acknowledges that public safety organisations are nervous of moving away from a TETRA-based solution.

‘LTE has been created for the mass market, so it can obviously do voice. But policemen are happy with TETRA voice terminals – it’s proven technology – so they are worried about having to rely on a new technology,’ says Coutière. ‘But after a couple of years of LTE use they will see it is fine and I think in five to 10 years they will switch over to LTE.’

It’s a bold prediction, but Coutière

sees a gradual movement over to a full LTE-based system starting with using broadband for data services such as maps giving the location of colleagues, images and video.

He argues: ‘When public safety personnel become accustomed to it and see it works and that it is easily available, we will tell them it is like your commercial network at home, so why not switch your voice to that too?’

Clearly there are considerable obstacles to be overcome, not least, can commercial mobile operators really meet the stringent demands of mission critical voice? And if they cannot, how many countries are prepared to build out a private public safety LTE network, even if they have the spectrum available?

Those problems will have to be

addressed, but in the meantime Alcatel-Lucent is keen to demonstrate its TETRA over LTE solution.

Coutière says: ‘For now we have a TETRA with an LTE overlay solution. We integrate a TETRA device, the data goes to a TETRA network, then into IP on the LTE network and reaches a PC with TETRA software. The PC captures the TETRA elements and communicates with the TETRA hardware you are using.’

Coutière points out that the PC is connected through LTE, but it could be connected over any IP network. ‘You can connect to command and control centres or vehicles with PCs, or you can connect to an officer in the field.’

At present there are few LTE-enabled terminals, let alone ruggedised ones, but personnel can take a ruggedised PC into

the field with an LTE dongle, which are widely available.

Alcatel-Lucent supplies an end-to-end LTE network apart from the terminals, hence the link up with Cassidian (see box). Coutière says the company is running tests in the US and Brazil using LTE dongles. He is confident that broadband video solutions will prove popular within the public safety community. The availability of real-time images will help emergency services tailor responses to incidents more accurately, thereby saving time and money.

‘Nobody doubts video will be useful,’ he says. ‘But I doubt a lot of customers will go for TEDS when they can see what the mass market is getting on their smartphones.’

TWC REPORT - ALCATEL-LUCENT

Alcatel-Lucent and Cassidian, part of EADS, announced an agreement in Budapest to jointly develop a mobile broadband solution for emergency response and security communications systems operating in the 400MHz spectrum band. They will use LTE technology to support broadband data services such as mobile and location-based video services.

Under the agreement, Cassidian will develop radio heads and terminals and lead the marketing and sales efforts in the public safety and defence markets where 400MHz spectrum is being used. Alcatel-Lucent will use its LTE technology to integrate and validate the entire solution, as well as leading the marketing and sales drive in transportation, energy and other industries.

CASSIDIAN LINKS UP WITH ALCATEL-LUCENT

Voice communications TETRA-based solutions could be replaced by LTE technology

Alcatel-Lucent demonstrated its TETRA over LTE voice solution at this year’s TETRA World Congress. James Atkinson reports

‘Policemen are happy with TETRA voice terminals, so they are worried about having to rely on a new technology’Matthieu Coutière, Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent bets on LTE for voice in public safety

034-Wire-10.indd 1 28/07/2011 11:30

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TWC: PRODUCT ROUNDUPPR

OD

UCT

ROUN

DUP

This year’s TETRA World Congress in Budapest, Hungary saw a raft of new equipment, product and device launches. Here, Wireless profi les its picks of the show

HUNGRY FORINNOVATION

Sepura unveils intrinsically safe STP8X radio● www.sepura.com

Sepura used the Congress to announce the addition of intrinsically safe products to its range of TETRA radios. The new launches include the STP8X device, which offers features normally only available on Sepura’s flagship STP8000 device range.

These include missed event notifications, a microSD image viewer for looking up hazardous material data, and a display that offers crystal clear viewing under all conditions, including harsh sunlight. The device also offers extended battery life, a feature not normally associated with ATEX/IECEX radios.

Sepura expects the device to build on its position in hazardous gas and dust sectors such as fire, oil and gas exploration and opencast mining where intrinsically safe ATEX/IECEX certified products are required.

DAMM completes indoor base station range from BS411 25W● www.damm.dk

DAMM announced the completion of its existing indoor base station portfolio at the show with the introduction of its BS411 25W high power indoor base station. Designed for use in networks where high traffic capacity is required and where terminals operate with more than 1.8W output power, the base station can support up to eight carriers.

Features include fully IP-based connectivity so remote supervision and diagnostic operations, test, control, setting and software updates and file transfers are all enabled.

In addition, operators gain further advantages since the base station’s embedded operational and maintenance system is accessed via a Windows desktop. Reduced power consumption is achieved by supporting discontinuous transmission – where only active transceivers need power – until traffic load requires more carriers to be on air.

Bluetooth headset solutions from Savox● www.savox.com

Savox Communications previewed its new range of Bluetooth solutions for the professional radio market at the Congress. These included the Savox Communications Professional Bluetooth noise reducing headset, which is designed to provide the convenience of handsfree operation with a range of professional Bluetooth radios. The ergonomic design means it is secure and comfortable to wear for long periods of time and can be used with glasses and gloves. A feature of the headset is the foam ear tip that provides high performance hearing protection capabilities which block all background noise from the ear when the product is in operation. It is ideal for the professional user who needs a headset with hearing protection for long periods on a daily basis such as police, security, industrial, maintenance and transport professionals who are in active situations.

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Unimo displays MU-1500MD TETRA data modem● www.unimo.co.kr/eng

Unimo showed off its MU-1500MD TETRA data modem at the Congress. It operates in the 380-400MHz and 410-430MHz bands. Features include: status message; SDS TL140 Byte/frame; PPP connected packet data mode; auto power – on reset; PEI interface with at-commands; and an option for a GPS location report on demand.

The modem can be used for a range of remote control applications including; tele-metering and tele-control applications; automatic meter reading; and supervisory control and data acquisition applications. The modem is designed to operate in temperatures ranging from -20°C to +55°C.

New digital band repeater from Axell Wireless● www.axellwireless.com

Axell Wireless unveiled the BSR438 digital band selective TETRA repeater in Budapest. Based on the company’s SDR (software defined radio) and digital filtering technology, the BSR438 does not require hardware upgrades and can be configured remotely using software updates. The launch is an extension of Axell’s range of digital TETRA repeaters, which includes the existing channel selective CSR438.

The BSR438 TETRA digital repeater is designed to support public safety networks and PMR (Professional Mobile Radio) systems for high security applications such as Metro networks or the oil and gas industries. Its broad frequency capability allows the BSR438 to operate from 380MHz to 470MHz in bands of up to 20MHz in bandwidth.

Equally, a narrow band part of the spectrum can be selected through a simple GUI interface. Being a band selective unit, the BSR438 is well suited to applications that require more than eight channels to be amplified. In addition, thanks to Axell’s DSP architecture, the BSR438 can be converted by a simple upgrade in software to Axell’s channel selective product, the CSR438.

Cassidian’s mini TB3p base station plugs the gap● www.cassidian.com

Cassidian used the event to introduce its TB3p TETRA base station, which it claims can help eliminate the last gaps in radio network coverage. The TETRA base station, which is about the size of a standard laptop PC, offers similar features to Cassidian’s larger TB3 and TB3c, but with power consumption of only 40W – about 10% of that of a conventional macro base station.

The company expects the most popular application for the TB3p to be for indoor coverage in large public buildings, shopping centres or indoor car parks. It is also an extremely cost-effective way of filling coverage gaps. The TB3p can also be used as a standalone base station to provide hotspot coverage in places that the network may not reach.The TB3p can help TETRA network operators and owners save money as it does not need a costly site, and can adapt to the transmission network that is available: it can use conventional time-division multiplexing (TDM) transmission, but also Internet Protocol (IP) transmission.

CeoTronics shows off CT-ClipCom Ex device● www.ceotronics.de

CeoTronics demonstrated its now ATEX-approved CT-ClipCom Ex, an intrinsically safe device in accordance with European standards EN 60079-0:2006 and EN 60079-11:2007. Conforming to the high protection class ‘II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4’, the device is suitable for approximately 98% of ATEX scenarios.

The ATEX certification applies to both versions of CT-ClipCom: CT-ClipCom Earmike with an ear microphone and CT-ClipCom Boommike, which has a flexible swan neck microphone. The boommike version comes with the company’s new Flexboom, which is lighter and more robust. It keeps its shape better and does not bounce back when newly positioned.

As standard, both products come as monaural versions and can also be obtained as binaural communication systems.

CT-ClipCom Earmike has also been EC type-approved as hearing protection compliant in accordance to EN 352-2. That removes the need for workers in those situations from having to wear heavy sudorific ear muffs.

and PMR (Professional Mobile Radio) systems for high security applications such as Metro networks or the oil and gas industries. Its broad frequency capability allows the BSR438 to operate from 380MHz to 470MHz in bands of up to 20MHz

Equally, a narrow band part of the spectrum can be selected through a simple GUI interface. Being a band selective unit, the BSR438 is well suited to applications

architecture, the BSR438 can be

●

CeoTronics demonstrated its now ATEX-approved CT-ClipCom Ex, an intrinsically safe device in accordance with European standards EN 60079-0:2006 and EN 60079-11:2007. Conforming to the high protection class ‘II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4’, the device is suitable for approximately 98% of ATEX scenarios.

Earmike with an ear microphone and CT-ClipCom Boommike, which has a flexible swan neck microphone. The boommike version comes with the company’s new Flexboom, which is lighter and more robust. It keeps its shape better and does not bounce back when newly positioned.

obtained as binaural communication systems.

compliant in accordance to EN 352-2. That removes the need for workers in those situations from having to wear heavy sudorific ear muffs.

036-037-Wire-10.indd 2 28/07/2011 11:38

Antenna manufacturers were reporting good levels of

interest at the TETRA World Congress in Budapest and most seemed to feel the market for their products was pretty healthy despite the depressed global economic situation.

John Thomson, technical sales and support manager at Panorama Antennas, says: ‘We are doing a fair bit more in Asia, although not to the same level of activity as we are experiencing in Europe, which is still a healthier market for us.’

Like many in the industry, Thomson reports that customers are looking very carefully at costs in the public safety sector.

‘So, we are developing products and packages that reduce the cost of installation,’ he says. ‘We do this by providing installation solutions that reduce the amount of damage to vehicles and by reducing the installation time using plug in and play techniques that require the minimum amount of work.’

High demandThe company has a whole range of TETRA products so it can provide a solution for any application, although Thomson says the highest areas of demand are still for public safety applications, transportation and industrial use.

Panorama’s

TRNB series of specialist TETRA railway antennae has been available for a year but has already attracted some notable successes. It’s a very heavy duty antenna designed to meet railway specifications for shock and vibration, as well as very stringent electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements.

The antenna is available in the 380MHz-430MHz band and the 800MHz band for the Asian market. One of the company’s biggest contracts to date came through Motorola and involved the supply of 350 antennae for use in Brazil for mining trains.

A challengeLooking to the future, Thomson

says Panorama is developing multi-functional antennas to meet the growing data demand. The antennas can handle GSM and 3G and

wireless LAN. ‘The integration of LTE with TETRA means we will need to provide MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) type antennas. It’s more of a challenge, so we are working on these at the moment.

‘We are also doing standalone LTR antenna,’ says Thomson, ‘but we need the multi-functional ones too. We are getting inquiries from Germany about this. In the UK, we need to get the spectrum for critical

national infrastructure, so we want to know where the next requirement is coming from in terms of spectrum.’

Alan Spencer, global PMR sales manager at Jaybeam, part of the Amphenol group, says the firm is doing well in the UK and France, but is looking to get greater penetration in the rest of Europe.

While Europe remains Jaybeam’s primary market, Spencer says the company is achieving major growth in the Middle East and North Africa.

The company has a huge portfolio of medium and heavy duty omnidirectional, Yagi, panel and directional array antennas from 200MHz up to 2,200MHz. It has also been promoting its multi-band antennas to customers as a way of helping them to cut costs and future proof themselves.

Spencer says expanding its

indoor products will be Jaybeam’s next area of focus. ‘We need to expand our indoor range anyway. We need to put a speed bump between us and our competitors so that when they catch up we are onto the next thing. We have an idea about how the future will look for antennas inside, but we must work with our partners or we’ll develop a product that nobody wants. It may be good to be first to market, but you’ve got to get the

product right.’

Holistic solutionIn terms of helping customers reduce costs, Jaybeam is promoting a holistic site solution.

‘At Amphenol we have antennas, cabling, connectors into infrastructure, clamps and earthing products, so we can offer a one source approach,’ says Spencer.

TWC: ANTENNA ROUNDUPTE

TRA

AN

TEN

NA

S

TETRA antenna manufacturers are optimistic about their business prospects. James Atkinson reports

BEAMING OUT FROM BUDAPEST

‘‘The integration of LTE with TETRA means we will need to provide MIMO type antennas’John Thomson, Panorama Antennas

national infrastructure, so we want to know where the next requirement is coming from in terms of spectrum.’

Alan Spencer, global PMR sales manager at Jaybeam, part of the Amphenol group, says the firm is doing well in the UK and France, but is looking to get greater penetration in the rest

While Europe remains Jaybeam’s primary market, Spencer says the company is achieving major growth in the Middle East and

The company has a huge portfolio of medium and heavy duty omnidirectional, Yagi, panel and directional array antennas from 200MHz up to 2,200MHz. It has also been promoting its

indoor products will be Jaybeam’s next area of focus. ‘We need to expand our indoor range anyway. We need to put a speed bump between us and our competitors so that when they catch up we are onto the next thing. We have an idea about how the future will look for antennas inside, but we must work with our partners or we’ll develop a product that nobody wants. It may be good to be first to market, but you’ve got to get the

product right.’

Holistic solutionIn terms of helping customers reduce costs, Jaybeam is promoting a holistic site solution.

‘At Amphenol we have

‘It may be good to be fi rst to market, but you’ve got to get the product right’ Alan Spencer, Jaybeam

of installation,’ he says. ‘We do this by providing installation solutions that reduce the amount of damage to vehicles and by reducing the installation time using plug in and play techniques that require the minimum amount of work.’

High demandThe company has a whole range of TETRA products so it can provide a solution for any application, although Thomson says the highest areas of demand are still for public safety applications, transportation and industrial use.

Panorama’s

says Panorama is developing multi-functional antennas to meet the growing data demand. The antennas can handle GSM and 3G and

wireless LAN. ‘The integration of LTE with TETRA means we will need to provide MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) type antennas. It’s more of a challenge, so we are working on these at the moment.

‘We are also doing standalone LTR antenna,’ says Thomson, ‘but we need the multi-functional ones too. We are getting inquiries from Germany about this. In the UK, we need to get the spectrum for critical

TETR

A A

NTE

NN

AS

038-040-Wire-10.indd 1 28/07/2011 11:32

039-Wire-10-ADS.indd 1 14/07/2011 12:36

‘If you source everything separately, it means you have a large vendor base to manage and that can create logistical challenges in terms of getting the right products delivered at the right time. It is expensive and time wasting to keep site gangs waiting.’

A new face at TETRA World Congress was Slovak antenna manufacturer 2J, which designs and manufacturers a wide range of combined, magnetic, bodymount, patch, embedded and special applications antennae.

Fill the gapJanette Jarvie, general manager at 2J, says: ‘Our main market was antenna in the 800MHz to 6GHz bands, but we have also had a modest portfolio of TETRA antennas. After receiving an increased number of enquiries for TETRA antennas, we thought we’d try out TETRA World Congress. It’s good research for us to find out what the market wants. We think we can fill in the gap between the well established market leaders and low-cost producers.’

2J produces a range of Telematic,

GPS, GLONASS, GPRS, GSM and other wireless networks antennas, along with an array of cable assemblies designed to customer specifications. The company also undertakes design of customised antennae for bespoke projects.

‘Budgets are being cut everywhere,’ says Jarvie, ‘so we think we can help by providing value for money products. A combination of factors, such as the central European location of Slovakia, our quality workforce, production independence (we have our own plastic injections, pick and place machines, etc.) and in-house development aids us in keeping the costs down and maintaining control

over the end quality of the product.’Skymasts Antennas was keen to

promote its ultra wideband high performance panel antenna, which offers low intermodulation products (PIM) covering the entire band from 380MHz to 470MHz.

The antenna has a sleek modern look and is suitable for both indoor and outdoor applications due to its fire retardant UV stable radome. It is available in a variety of different colours for covert installations and can be wall, ceiling or pole mounted.

Procom used the TETRA World Congress to show off its dual frequency mobile antenna designed for non-conductive surfaces. The product is a groundplane independent half-wave antenna for GPS and TETRA. It has been developed for installations on fibreglass surfaces and is especially suitable for motor cycles, agriculture vehicles and the like.

Key features include: a 2dB gain antenna and a whip with a built-in shock spring; its GPS signal is secured through a high-gain, low-noise amplifier; and SWR is optimised by tuning the black box matching unit.

Procom is also addressing the growing need for indoor TETRA antennas, which it describes as being very topical as legal requirements on TETRA indoor coverage are being implemented throughout Europe.

The PCPI xHCP-DP/TETRA antenna covers the whole TETRA-band (380MHz to 420MHz) in one antenna. To reduce out-of-phase signals, the antenna is left or right hand circular polarised.

This makes the antenna suitable for installations in environments with iron and concrete where reflections are more probable. Currently the antenna is being specified for applications such as ships, public buildings and tunnels.

‘We are developing products and packages that reduce the cost of installation’John Thomson, Panorama Antennas

New face Slovak manufacturer 2J was making its fi rst appearance at this year’s TWC

‘We can fi ll in the gap between the big antenna makers and smaller players’Janette Jarvie, 2J

Procom’s PCPI xHCP-DP/

TETRA antenna (right) and

Skymast’s ultra wideband high

performance panel antenna (left) were on display at the

Congress

038-040-Wire-10.indd 2 28/07/2011 11:32