Welcome
JANUARY 2020
Securing
the future
Critical Communications Today editor James Atkinson
discusses some of the security challenges ahead as
mission-critical users migrate to 4G LTE networks, and
considers how the oil and gas sector is tackling its
communication needs
Digital LMR networks are di cult to hack as they are private systems
accessible only (in theory) to a limited number of authorised users and
devices. ey also come with a high degree of security features built in from
the start. However, the migration of public safety users to broadband 4G, and in the
future 5G networks, risks exposure to a much higher level of security threat. is
is particularly the case if public safety agencies and other mission-critical users are
relying on commercial LTE networks.
Having a separate public safety core on a commercial mobile phone network does
help to reduce the risk considerably, which is why both ESN in the UK and FirstNet
in the US have followed this route. But as our cyber security feature on page 14
shows, connecting millions of IoT devices to the same network provides hackers
and hostile nations with millions of additional routes into the network. It’s a new
landscape that mission-critical users will have to contend with in the coming decades
as more of them migrate to broadband.
e oil and gas sector is a hypersafety
Connecting millions
of IoT devices
provides hackers
with millions of
additional routes
into the network
requires ultra-reliable communications.
e ability to get data back from remote
sites is a key requirement, but as our
feature on page 17 reveals, the sector is
deploying a mix of technologies. P25,
TETRA and DMR and other narrowband technologies are still heavily
relied on for mission-critical voice services, as well as for transmitting IoT information
from sensors and alarms. But these are increasingly being used in conjunction with
private broadband networks to transmit data, video and other IoT information.
A similar mix of technologies is being deployed in India (see page 10) where
analogue and digital LMR is still being rolled out. However, the shift towards LTE
and 5G networks has been hampered by a lack of appetite from bidders for spectrum.
We also have a review of PMRExpo 2019 (page 20) and a preview of the upcoming
British APCO show in Coventry (page 23).
is is my rst issue as interim editor of Critical Communications Today. I’ll be in
the hot seat for a few months to help the magazine through a transition period. I look
forward to talking to and meeting up with some of you in the coming months.
James Atkinson, editor
MISSION STATEMENT
Critical Communications Today
provides the global missioncritical
community with insight
into the latest technology
and best practice required
to ensure that its members
always have access to the
instant, one-to-many wireless
communications that can make
all the difference inmoments
of crisis.
We are dedicated to providing
our readers with the knowledge
they need when determining
their critical communications
strategies and procurements,
though delivering up-to-theminute
accurate information on
industry trends, developments,
and deployments, as well as
the latest new products and
services. Our journalists are
committed to easing out the
little details from your peers
that will allow you to draw
on the industry’s collective
experience of deploying and
implementing new projects
andsystems.
We work to stimulate and
focus debates on the topics
that matter most and provide
our readers with a means to
raise their concerns and speak
frankly about their work and
the lessons they’ve learned
while delivering the devices and
networks that the world’s blue
light organisations depend on.
conscious industry and it too
4 www.criticalcomms.com January 2020
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