Spain and Portugal
10
Iberian airwaves
While millions ock to Spain and Portugal in search of the perfect tan,
Sam Fenwick takes a look at both countries’ mission-critical markets
and the networks that help keep citizens and tourists safe
www.criticalcomms.com July 2019
Before we begin in earnest,
let me set the scene. Since
the fi nancial crisis burst
Spain’s housing bubble,
the country has seen
something of an export-related boom
after its companies were forced to cut
their reliance on the domestic market.
According to BBVA Research, the
Spanish economy may grow by 2.2 per
cent in 2019 and 1.9 per cent in 2020.
Tourism accounts for around 11.9 per
cent of the country’s GDP and, each
summer, around 40,000 troops are
sent to popular tourist destinations
to help reduce the likelihood of
terrorist attacks. Th e public safety
outlook brightened somewhat in
mid-2018, with the news that the
ETA, a Basque nationalist/separatist
terrorist group, which had killed
829 people and injured thousands
more, had disbanded. While a general
election took place in April, according
to Reuters another may take place in
November, if power-sharing talks fail.
Turning to Portugal, the country
has enjoyed an impressive recovery
from the dark days of 2012, when it
was forced to accept a painful austerity
package in exchange for a bailout
from the IMF, European Commission
and European Central Bank. In June,
FocusEconomics’ analysts expected the
country to see GDP growth of 1.7 per
cent in 2019, and a general election will
Redomero says the 20007-2008
fi nancial crisis resulted in a “lack
of investment in many networks,
but in the last three or four years
we have seen a lot of investment in
those networks. We have seen many
customers going for a refresh of their
networks and systems; the market
is really active right now. We have
recorded two-digit growth over
the past couple of years and almost
doubled our revenues for the
region.” He adds that in the region,
some local police forces are using
mobile working applications that are
similar to Motorola Solutions’ Pronto
suite, with the buying decisions taking
place at the municipal level, and there
are four to six companies in Spain “that
off er this kind of software and it’s quite
commonly used in the country at a
municipal level”. He adds that some
police forces are also showing interest
in body-worn video cameras, with a
number in Spain using some from
Edesix, the Scottish BWV manufacturer
that was acquired by Motorola
Solutions earlier this year.
All the Autonomous
Communities that have
TETRA have shown interest in
LTE, but there isn’t the
spectrum available
take place in October. Th e country’s
recovery has been aided by a boom in
tourism and an uptick in household
spending. Th e above illustrates the
extent to which both countries’
economies depend on the vigilance of
their public safety agencies.
Regional trends
Sergio Redomero, sales manager, Spain
and Portugal at Motorola Solutions,
says a lot of his company’s customers
in the region are interested in LTE,
but “many were expecting LTE to
be landing quickly into this missioncritical
market and thought it would
probably replace TETRA in two to
three years. Th e reality is that TETRA
and DMR will continue to be the
main communication technologies
for the police forces, fi re brigades and
so on probably for the next 10 years
or more with LTE being used in a
complementary way for data services.”
Miguel Aladrén, sales director,
Spain and Portugal at Teltronic,
says one issue in both countries is
the lack of spectrum for private
broadband systems. “Part of the
market has expressed a real interest in
broadband and users are demanding
it. For instance, all the Autonomous
Communities in Spain that have a
TETRA network have shown interest
in incorporating LTE technology, but
there isn’t the spectrum available.”
/www.criticalcomms.com