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TETRA
PMR
Critical communications – reliable radio Wireless communications isn’t just about 3G, 4G or 5G mobile communications. Two-way radio, in the form of TETRA, is still going strong and, as Vaughan O’Grady finds out from two companies active in the African market, very relevant in Africa.
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ETRA (SHORT FOR TErrestrial Trunked RAdio) is a professional mobile radio and twoway transceiver specification. Although it has been around for a long time (the first network was launched in Norway in 1997), TETRA remains a relevant technology for many industries around the world. It’s widely used by government agencies, emergency services and a number of private industries. As for why it is still relevant, Nicolas Hauswald, CEO of Etelm and Tim Mills, sales director – overseas co-ordination, Sepura, are in a better position than most to explain. Critical communications specialist Etelm is active in the African market, most notably providing TETRA networks in the transport and oil and gas sectors. Sepura is known for the development and supply of radio terminals, accessories and applications for TETRA-based mission-critical and business-critical communications. Explaining TETRA’s continuing popularity, Hauswald says, “TETRA is widely accepted by the users – and this is key. Users will not change easily when they are happy with a solution, especially if change has a heavy cost. The technology remains the answer to many required communication challenges as it offers a level of reliability that no other wireless technology on the market can bring.” Mills adds, “TETRA is trusted as the international standard globally. This means that experience and knowledge can be shared
18 Communications Africa Issue 3 2020
Photo: Sepura
SRG3900 mobile TETRA radio.
between countries and market sectors. Public safety and sites of critical national infrastructure often rely on vast national networks that take a lot of time, investment and planning to replace.” No new standards have been established for these that would make them suitable for critical communications, and so, Mills, like Hauswald, concludes, “TETRA is an accepted standard, trusted by millions, which delivers on the voice and data requirements of users in the sector.” While critical communications tends to be where TETRA is most relevant, its precise use tends to vary, depending on the region. For instance, while TETRA is used for public safety in Africa, it not as widely used for this purpose as in Europe, where it’s a long-established standard for emergency services. However, says Mills, “National forces use the technology in North Africa, and the South African Police Service are large users.” African countries primarily use the platform in transport, airports, utilities, oil and gas and major events. Examples include the new Mauritius Metro (where Sepura partner Consort Digital has just deployed a complete
“New TETRA networks are being deployed and TETRA still has a long life ahead”
communications solution), the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, and many utilities plants. Mills says, “A site that has critical security requirements is typical of those that operate a TETRA network. Hence even some national wildlife reserves employ TETRA and benefit from functionality such as GPS positioning, clear audio and the ability to transfer images and other data across the network.” He continues, “For transport users, the ability to have a flexible network is of huge benefit; maintenance and station staff benefit from the clear audio, which can be crucial when working in a busy or noisy environment, while the mobile radio can integrate with existing systems and share telemetry data over the network.” Transport is certainly one area where Africa stands out. As Hauswald says, “Etelm supports a number of TETRA projects in urban transport, such as tramways, which are mainly located in North and West Africa. We also supply coverage to a number of industrial train lines in these regions too – for example, mine trains.” Etelm, as we have noted, focuses on radio infrastructure. “We provide a core network and the devices are very often purchased by different routes. This includes devices for voice
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