The Critical Communications Association
that companies tend to jump in and out
of the MCX market due to a failure to
understand the amount of effort required
to operate within it. (TASSTA has so
far invested more than €2m on MCX
development, with more to come).
He said TASSTA is seeing a great deal
of interest from hardware companies
around the world, offering as it does
a 3GPP-compliant solution and full
ecosystem. This includes GPS and lone
worker functionality, with the company
also working on Teltronic, Tait and
Kenwood RadioActivity gateways.
Motorola Solutions had a strong
showing once again at CCW,
demonstrating a range of missioncritical
communications technologies
on its stand, with a particular emphasis
on integrated, end-to-end software
solutions. An example of this would be
in relation to its command and control
ecosystem, incorporating video feeds,
data from sensors, access to historical
records, as well as “citizen input”.
The company also welcomed its
longstanding partner STC Specialized
(STCSC) to the show, with which it has
provided – according to the company
– more than 50,000 TETRA radios and
accessories over the past year.
Speaking of STCSC’s relationship
with Motorola, the latter’s senior director
of sales, Middle East, Patrick Fitting,
said: “It is a pleasure for Motorola
Solutions to have such a strong partner
in the region and it was an honour to
meet their team at CCW. We presented
our entire portfolio of mission-critical
communication solutions at the event,
including our latest TETRA portfolio,
Al-based video security solutions and
CommandCenter software.”
Airbus unveiled a new feature at
the show in the shape of Dabat Hybrid
Roaming, which combines the company’s
Tactilon Dabat hybrid TETRA/LTE terminal
and its Tactilon Agnet 800 solution. This
is designed to allow users of the terminal
to seamlessly roam between their TETRA
network and LTE coverage.
Tactilon Agnet 800 is an app for
smart devices – such as the Tactilon
Dabat – which enables the use of
features including push-to-talk, status
notifi cations, text messaging and
emergency calls, along with the ability
to switch to LTE coverage. The Tactilon
Dabat’s primary mode of operation is via
the use of a TETRA network.
A sizeable space on the exhibition
fl oor was occupied by Critical
Communications Finland (CCF), a
conglomeration of agencies and
manufacturers representing the critical
communications work currently taking
place in that part of the world. Some
of the names involved include Bittium,
NSION, Savox, Beaconsim and Nokia.
Speaking on behalf of CCF, Tero
Pesonen discussed why it was deemed
important that Finnish companies
demonstrate a united front in this way.
“The purpose of Critical Communications
Finland is success in co-operation,”
he said. “We are always seeking that,
sharing what we do and answering any
question that’s asked.
“From the government public safety
operator and the fi rst-responder point of
view, we wanted to have an exchange
in relation to how we work, and what
people think regarding how we should
be working in terms of broadband, and
the transition from TETRA. A particular
source of stress at the moment is the
things ‘you don’t know you don’t know’
aka ‘unknown unknowns’. So, we listen
to everyone with very open ears to make
sure there’s nothing we’ve missed. That’s
what’s happened at CCW 2019.”
While it is not intended for missioncritical
use, one product that stood out
from the crowd was Shanli Tongyi’s
4G Intelligent Patrol Instrument – a
combined LED torch/PTT over Cellular
(PoC) radio. This can also be used as a
club if necessary, allowing security guards
– for example – to carry less devices.
Other products that caught our eye
from Chinese vendors included Telo
Systems’ DMR/LTE TE580PD hybrid
smartphone, which is IP67-rated and
has a 3600mAh removable battery, and
BelFone’s BF-TR925D dual band portable
DMR repeater. The latter can also feature
as a single frequency repeater and has
an impressively large 30Ah battery to
allow it to support a full day’s operation.
BelFone was also showing its new BFSFR600
DMR single frequency repeater.
This allocates one timeslot to receive a
signal and the other to transmit it at the
same frequency, using DMO mode to
extend radio coverage.
We hope that this has given you a
sense of the sheer amount of content,
innovation and discussion that was on
show at CCW 2019 and we’re looking
forward to bringing you the highlights
from next’s years event in Madrid.
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