Motorola Solutions, a mission-critical communications provider, has opened an R&D centre, combining LTE mobile broadband and TETRA digital radio

A €1 million (£800,000) test lab and live demonstration facility has been created at the company’s European headquarters in Basingstoke, UK. It will help to develop mission-critical communications for public safety organisations. Scenario simulations include a terrorist bomb threat, which can be dealt with at the facility, using new applications and services that will support emergency service personnel in the future.

The facility features a command and control center with live TETRA and LTE mobile broadband feeds. Motorola Solutions is working with partners and organisations to support the introduction of 3GPP LTE standards for mission-critical services, expected to continue through 2020. Development from government and public safety organisations will add the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards-based LTE technology to existing TETRA environments.

Data gathering from cameras, smartphones, social media and sensors will provide new levels of intelligence for public safety agencies. The centre will support those deciding how to manage the intelligence and an increased flow of data. This will demonstrate operational demands; tested through incident creation, resource allocation, mobilisation, information analysis and distribution of real-time intelligence.

“The combination of TETRA and 3GPP standards-based high-speed LTE mobile data networks for mission-critical communications will have tremendous implications for the way that public safety is delivered in the future,” says Paul Steinberg, senior vice president and CTO at Motorola Solutions. “From new devices that securely capture and communicate data, to the management of new forms and levels of intelligence. What becomes important is the ability to secure a single operational view, which can then be successfully communicated in real-time for a unified response. Motorola Solutions’ Mission Critical Solutions Centre enables the most useful features from both TETRA and LTE applications in order to generate the next advances in public safety.”

Image: command and control centre created by Motorola Solutions

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