A Trusted Partner of Governments.

The new security environment in which we live calls for a special relationship between the public and private sectors. Governments planning for nationwide
communications networks need to build strong relationships with the private sector if they are to be supplied with advice and equipment to meet their needs. Traditionally the private sector is, on one hand, trustworthy and stable but on the other hand very innovative –the key for governments is in finding an experienced, trustworthy partner.

Ever since the TETRA standard was conceived back in 1989, Motorola has been heavily involved in driving and influencing it in the direction of multi-vendor choice for governments. As a matter of fact, Motorola is the only company left that has consistently contributed to the creation of standards, the marketing of standards through the TETRA MoU, the multi-vendor certification process, the security expansions, expansion of the standards geographical reach into Asia, China, South Korea and Latin America, and last but not least, in funding the development of the TETRA Release 2 standard for high speed data, a key requirement as organizations seek to enhance the level of communications services and applications they offer to end users.

Motorola is the partner of choice for many governments in the security field. The world’s largest TETRA network, the Airwave system in UK, is a Motorola solution. The Netherlands has the C2000 solution, with most multi-vendor terminal supply for its multi-agency secure TETRA system, where Police, Fire and Ambulance services corporate on a single platform. In Austria, the government has partnered with Motorola for a 20-year communication solution.

Interoperability is the buzz word in this specialised communication sector, which TETRA serves. On one hand, it is the ability of all concerned parties to communicate with each other, when they need to – for example during a disaster where inter-agency communication is critical. On the other hand, interoperability means the ability for users and governments to have a choice of terminals from several different manufacturers. For example, the users of the Airwave system and the C2000 system have a choice between 5 different manufacturers all of which “interoperate” with the system infrastructure in a secure way.

Innovation is a result of open standards – just consider how the Internet has evolved. Motorola has just launched the first TETRA PDA – a tool that increases efficiency by allowing a police officer to complete paperwork, while in the field. By eliminating the need to return to the station to fill in the traffic accident report, the officer gains more time to assist the general population. Needless to say, the normal political ambition to have more visible policing is being met with such a tool. The daily life of public safety officials is also made safer, with the introduction of TETRA; terminals that have built-in GPS receivers that can pin-point the whereabouts of an officer in need for help.

Motorola has invested more than €500M in TETRA technology. The development work takes place in several European countries most recent new R&D facility is in Poland where around 400 engineers now contribute to TETRA developments.

With this amount of investment, innovation is taken even further. For example Motorola has recently introduced the only mobile wireless broadband technology available today - called MotoMesh, which operates at speeds in excess of 150 Km/h. The company is actively developing integrated solutions between Tetra and these emerging network technologies to further enable advanced communications solutions. By leveraging technology developed for battlefield communications, Motorola’s Mesh Networks Solutions supports high-speed data, video and location services for both fixed and mobile users. The solution provides public safety users the capability to track both personnel and resources, even inside buildings, whilst also providing a broadband channel for live video, audio and telemetry data.

Furthermore, TETRA is not just a European success story; Motorola has just completed the supply of a TETRA system to the Hong Kong Police – a project called CC3 – Command and Control 3rd Generation. CC3 is a fantastic example of IT integration between the officers in the field and back office systems. It features one of the world’s most accurate GPS positioning systems, which serves the around 10,000 users who rely daily on TETRA for their link “back home” to base.

The government of South-Korea is also in a process to establish a nationwide Government Radio Network (GRN), which will serve all National Emergency Management Agencies.

The local government of Cape Town was glad it had the TETRA system some years back when the electricity supply was lost for many hours. The only system that stayed operational was the TETRA system, which serves the municipal organisations. Exactly the organisations that need to stay effective during such incidents.

When one considers the criticality of these communications networks, together with the vast financial resources organised crime has at their disposal, it is important for governments to protect their systems accordingly. Needles to say, all the above mentioned TETRA networks are fully secure - not one radio operates in clear mode; a stolen radio can be disabled from the system immediately thereby prohibiting it being used to listen to or transmit false messages. Furthermore the latest release of Tetra from Motorola provides full end to end encryption across the entire network.

The EU – and its member states - are taking a very close look at the Critical Network Infrastructure protection and TETRA is a vital tool for governments in ensuring a coordinated and effective response to man-made or natural disasters. Unfortunately it often takes a disaster to bring the communication needs of the public protection and emergency response personnel to the political agenda.

A commonly shared government radio network is a relatively new direction for many political decision makers and the associated cost savings are not always fully understood. However, each and every European government that has chosen a multi-agency network over the last 5 years has chosen TETRA.