Critical Communications World 2019 2019 WORLD
come something that we call crossindustry
service harmonisation. Going
forward, different industries, from
agriculture to healthcare and mission
critical, will now all be based on common
technologies, therefore forcing them to
harmonise their services.
“The 5G core network is sliced, which
is one of the big hype issues that exists
around the technology. At the same
time, the hardware has no service logic,
because that resides in the software –
it’s virtualised. You can therefore have
several networks operating at once, all of
which have specifi c characteristics when
it comes to quality of service.”
Innovation on show
There was a great deal of innovation on
show in the exhibition hall, and it felt
as though more companies had new
products on show than last year. This is
an encouraging sign, particularly given
that the industry continues to be at a
strange stage in its lifecycle, with TETRA
being a mature technology and missioncritical
broadband yet to fully take off.
On Sepura’s stand, head of global
TETRA terminals product line Peter
Hudson showed us its new mobile
handset, the SCG22. It includes the
features present in Sepura’s SC20 and
SC21 hand-portables plus a 10W RF
power rating, while also offering full
gateway and repeater functionality. It has
both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, as
well as an expanded operating frequency
range of 380-470MHz.
Hudson demonstrated a prototype LTE
mobile terminal, which the company is
gathering feedback on. It has a slot for
a TETRA modem, so that it can function
as a dual-mode device if required. It
supports 3GPP Release 12, runs on
Android and can later be upgraded to
support MCX services if required. He also
mentioned the company’s new over-theair
programming (OTAP) functionality,
which allows terminals to update their
confi guration once they are switched
back on, having received the necessary
fi les beforehand. It also provides a full
audit trail.
Moving across to Hytera, Roger
Leung – the product director responsible
for the development of the company’s
multi-mode radio series – discussed
feedback received on the technology
from fi rst-responders. “They told us that
they wanted a multi-mode radio that is
more like a traditional radio. Slimmer
and rock solid, so it’s easier for onehanded
operation, and with louder and
clearer audio for noisy environments,
and also keeping the ability to use
data applications.”
With that in mind, Hytera has
developed the IP66/68-rated PTC680
Multi-Mode Advanced Radio (TETRA/
LTE), which has a narrower form-factor
than the company’s previous multi-mode
models and weighs 325g (15g lighter
than the 760 series). The company
has retained the previous model’s dual
display design, while at the same time
layering three programmable keys below
the screen to “put more one-touch
functions at users’ fi nger-tips”.
Patented ‘front cavity expansion
technology’ is used to generate up to
128dB of audio, with clarity also being
achieved via combination of digital
acoustic microphones and audioprocessing
algorithms. A version that can
support TETRA in 800MHz is due to be
released in the fourth quarter.
DAMM used CCW 2019 as the platform
to launch its FT5 TETRA handset, which
the company claims is the fi rst of its
kind to work in VHF, thereby allowing
customers to benefi t from a longer
range. The device, which is the result
of a joint project between DAMM and
Funktel GmbH, features 3W output
power, IP65 protection as well as support
for a range of positioning technologies. It
can work in conjunction with the DAMM
BS422 MultiTech base station, which also
has the ability to operate TETRA in VHF.
TASSTA’s managing director Kaveh
Hosseinzadeh revealed that it has started
implementing push-to-video (PTV)
functionality into its products. The aim is
to have an MCVideo-compliant solution
by the end of the year, although this may
slip given that the company is prioritising
MCPTT, and will also develop MCData
after MCPTT but before MCVideo.
Its current application automatically
optimises video quality based on the
available bandwidth. It is also possible
to answer a PTV call with PTT, which
reduces unnecessary load on the system.
Hosseinzadeh added that TASSTA is
expecting to have implemented group
and individual call functionality before
September. It will take part in the next
MCX Plugtests event, to which it will be
bringing an MCPTT client and server.
Discussing the market more broadly,
Hosseinzadeh passed on his observation
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