Handsets in focus
While much of
The critical communications market continues to be well supported by handset
manufacturers. Sam Fenwick takes a look at recent developments and the latest offerings
the underlying
performance
of any critical
communications
service hinges on the supporting
infrastructure and the clever work
to ensure consistent and reliable
coverage, all this is essentially invisible
to the end-user. What they see, know
and experience is the two-way radio
terminals they rely on as their ‘lifeline’.
A recent report from IHS Markit
sees steady growth in TETRA terminal
demand across verticals, led by the
industrial sector, which is expected to
have a compound average growth rate
(CAGR) of eight per cent between
2018 and 2023. Other markets with
more than five per cent anticipated
CAGR over the same period include
transport and utilities, while the public
safety market is predicted to grow its
TETRA installed base by more than
four per cent in the 12 months to
December 2020.
The report also sheds some insight
into regional trends, with North
America expected to record a CAGR
of nearly 15 per cent to 2023, Latin
America showing almost six per cent
although IHS Markit expects fewer
than 100,000 TETRA/LTE terminals
will be sold in the next three years and
much will depend on manufacturers’
ability to bring pricing down.
The slow nature of the transition is a
point that resonates with Eric Davalo,
head of strategic development at Secure
Land Communications at Airbus. “A
network based on 4G, or even 5G,
is the appropriate solution to make
secure multimedia communication
possible, but an immediate switch to
PMR-MCX services cannot be easily
done, for many reasons: technical,
operational and business. For example,
standardisation of mission-critical
services and the subsequent set of
available features are not yet sufficient
to cope with the expectations and
demands of today’s TETRA users. In
addition, 4G and 5G networks require
many additional base stations on-site
and Asia heading towards five per cent.
Europe is expected to see less growth
but is still on an upward curve, with
IHS Markit highlighting expected
deliveries of hybrid and broadband
terminals in the coming years. The
Middle East and Africa region is
expected to continue the steady growth
it has seen since 2015.
Within the European handset market
terminal refreshes are increasing in
importance as the growing maturity of
the narrowband market has increased
the overall install base, and the early
adopters of digital technologies are
returning to the market to update
their terminal fleets. In the UK, the
Emergency Services Network (ESN) is
running three years behind schedule, so
many of those user organisations that
hung on to their old terminals, hoping
to quickly replace them with ESN
devices, are now having to buy new
TETRA terminals. Given that ESN was
the outlier in terms of the speed of the
intended transition of mission-critical
users from narrowband to broadband
when compared with similar projects in
mainland Europe, it is possible that the
lessons learned from the project may
support the hybrid terminal market,
Motorola
Solutions’ APX
NEXT gives P25
users additional
broadband-based
functionality and
ViQi, a virtual
assistant
An immediate switch
to PMR-MCX services
cannot be easily done, for
many reasons: technical,
operational and business
32 www.criticalcomms.com November 2019
/www.criticalcomms.com