Motorola announced what they call the world's smallest TEDS (Tetra Enhanced Data Services) ready base station called the MTS1 at the Tetra World Congress in Singapore. Based on a new high performance hardware platform, the MTS1 is easily deployable for indoor and outdoor applications. The new device features IP66 weather resistance with wall and pole mounted installation options. It claims to offer network operators a cost effective adaptable solution that is simple to install for rapid and diverse deployment. Typical use of the MTS1 will be for the police department, fire fighting and other time critical applications. "Emergency service personnel require quick transfer of data and with the MTS1 we are well placed to offer enhanced data solutions to such personnel," said Jens Kristiansen, vice president of Tetra Global Products and Solutions, Motorola.
The three other new product announcements at the Tetra World Congress are the MTS4E, the multi band Tetra base station, MTM5400 end user radio device and a new software platform Dimetra 7.1. The first customer for the MTS4E base station is the UK government radio network called Airwave. The value proposition of the MTS4E is that it provides access to multiple frequency bands utilizing the same control channel and supports TEDS for high speed data.
According to company sources , the new base station provides a 20x increase in data capacity and support for rich media applications. The end user device MTM 5400 is the first Tetra mobile with voice and TEDS capability. The features of the device aids essential workflow management and group communication that is essential in mission critical operations. The radio also includes and integrated repeater-gateway function and a 10W transmission power capability. Another interesting feature of the MTM5400 is that it can be programmed over the air like how software upgrades are done on PCs and that too without any down time while the upgrades are happening. This reduces the need for the radio devices to be returned to designated locations for programming upgrades.
On the software level, the Dimetra 7.1 offers a variety of new features like high speed data, enhanced security and resilience, reduced TCO. By being integrated with the infrastructure equipment, the IP over Ethenet feature eliminates the need for external boxes that interoperate with legacy transmission protocols. The four announcements cover the network, software and the device levels. Highlighting the performance of Motorola in the enterprise mobility network area, Phey Teck Moh, Coporate Vice President of Motorola said that company has a 70 market share in the mass rapid transport sector in China and elsewhere. He also mentioned that the trend of setting up Government Radio Networks(GRN) like Airwave in the UK is also beginning in Asia with more and more countries considering it. India is a major focus market for Motorola and have recently bagged an order from the Delhi Metro for the new Airport line which will be commissioned before the Commonwealth Games.