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    • Advancing the Mission Critical Lifeline Author: Axel Kukuk

      Published Nov 02 2018, 11:31 AM by Paul Jeffs

      A Mission-Critical-Focused Preview of PMRExpo 2018 - Kölnmesse, Köln, Germany, 27-29 November, stand D12

      Every day, governments, businesses and individuals rely on effortless and reliable communications. They call it their lifeline. From the extreme moments to the day-to-day, communication plays an increasingly critical role in protecting and connecting the world.

      From mission-critical services and command centre software through to secure and reliable land mobile radio solutions, our technology is helping to advance your communications lifeline so businesses run smoothly and cities stay safe.

      Come and experience this at PMRExpo 2018 in Köln. We will be exhibiting and taking part in the conference too. We’ll have the widest range of mission-critical solutions to show you. We invite you to join us at the exhibition on stand D12 where you can meet with our industry experts and get hands-on with the latest solutions.

      We will be showing how you can unlock the potential of public safety in a digital age. We will be featuring purpose built devices such as the new ST7500 Compact TETRA radio, the new LEX 11 Mission Critical LTE device, the TPG2200 TETRA Pager; as well as complete radio network and command centre solutions, WAVE Push-To-Talk, Avigilon Video Surveillance and more. Check out our Mission Critical at PMRExpo event guide for more detail on what we will be showing for our Police, Fire and Rescue, Emergency Medical and other Public Safety users.

      I am looking forward to participating in these sessions in the conference too:

      • Tuesday 27 November, 11.00 - The future of Security-Critical Communication
      • Wednesday 28 November, 15.30 - Secure Communications and Virtualisation

      PMRExpo 2018 Learn More

      Check out our dedicated PMRExpo microsite too for news, views, previews and videos from the show - pmrexpo.motorolasolutions.com

      I look forward to seeing you in Köln.

      Axel Kukuk

      Axel Kukuk is Director Key Account Management, Head of Sales DACH at Motorola Solutions

      Axel is on LinkedIn

       

      Follow @MotSolsEMEA on Twitter and look out for #PMRExpo.

      Join Us

    • Key Mission Critical Challenges for Connecting Africa Author: Tunde Williams

      Published Oct 26 2018, 5:13 PM by Paul Jeffs

      Mission Critical Technologies Africa 2018 in Cape Town, 13-15 November 2018

      I am excited to be exhibiting and speaking at this year’s Mission Critical Technologies Africa.

      We will be showing how we can use our technology to solve communications challenges faced by police, fire and rescue, ambulance and other public safety agencies throughout Africa.

      What are those challenges?

      • Challenge 1 - Harnessing the complementary benefits of digital radio and mobile broadband technologies.  Many public safety service providers are planning for an extended period of co-existence for digital radio systems and mobile broadband networks.  This is understandable given that LTE mobile broadband networks promise access to cutting-edge, transformative applications that will enhance frontline personnel safety, improve situational awareness and boost productivity. TETRA land mobile radio systems, however, remain the best choice for supporting mission-critical voice services. How are you planning to maximise the benefits of TETRA coexistence with LTE?
      • Challenge 2 - Managing diverse data from an increasing number of sources. With the increasing adoption of wearables, and the growing number of information sources, we are fast approaching a tipping point. This is where the risk of not knowing what we know increases. How do you isolate that critical piece of information that could have changed the outcome of an incident?
      • Challenge 3 - Managing risk and keeping up with the pace of technology change. With the fast pace of technology advancement, do you have the skills and expertise required to maximise system performance and mitigate risk readily available in-house?
      • Challenge 4 - Ensuring staff can communicate and collaborate in real-time. Creating reliable communications systems presents multiple challenges. How do you design networks to ensure that the technology used matches user requirements?

      Visit us on stand A84 and learn from our experts about our range of solutions that can help you address these challenges:

      The new ST7500 compact TETRA radio, Ultra Portable LTE Infrastructure, our LEX L11 Mission-Critical LTE Device, Si500 Body Worn Camera, Avigilon Appearance Search™ and Unusual Motion Detection, Control Room Systems coupled with our Command Centre SoftwareManaged and Support Services to maximise your system’s availability and equipment uptime, high performance networks - MOTOTRBO™ Capacity Max and DIMETRA Express, WAVE broadband push-to-talk and a range of purpose-built TETRA, MOTOTRBO, ASTRO 25, and LTE devices. Wow!

      Read our dedicated event guide to find out more.

      I am also excited to be speaking in the conference on a very topical subject:

      'National mission critical networks – leveraging digital technologies alongside broadband' in 'Connecting Africa' on Thursday 15 November 2018 from 12:50 to 13:10.

      Visitor passes for Mission Critical Technologies Africa are free. You can register here.

      Our dedicated guide to MCTAfrica 218

      Mission Critical Technologies Africa is also co-located with AfricaCom so you could easily combine visits to both. Visitor passes for both events are free.

      You can also keep up-to-date with news and events on our Safer Cities, Secure Businesses Africa microsite at www.motorolasolutions.com/saferafrica

      I look forward to seeing you in Cape Town.

      Tunde Williams

      Tunde Williams is Head of Marketing for Europe, Middle-East and Africa

      Tunde is on LinkedIn

       

      Follow @MotSolsEMEA on Twitter and look out for #MCTA2018

       

      Join us

    • Critical Communications World 2018 – Video Highlights

      Published May 18 2018, 1:46 PM by Paul Jeffs

      Wow, what a show. In case you couldn’t make it or didn’t see everything, here’s my top pick of Public Safety focused videos from this week’s show.

      Welcome to CCW2018 - Critical Communications is the lifeline for many of our customers. Tunde Williams gives us a short brief on new product launches and enhancements at the show - including the new LEX L11 handheld LTE device.and TETRA enhancements:

       

      LEX L11 Handheld LTE – Paul Wilson introduces the new LEX L11 handheld LTE device and highlights its unique design for Public Safety users:

       

      The CTO Interview – Julian Foster interviews CTO Paul Steinberg about his CCW conference session on  'How technology will support tomorrow's first responders':

       

      Ultra Portable LTE Infrastructure - Martin Whitcroft gives a quick and comprehensive overview of the features and functionality of the new LXN 500:

       

      Dimetra X Core - Steen Petersen explains why Dimetra X Core meets the needs of TETRA for years to come:

       

      Si500 Bodyworn Video Demo - Paul Wilson takes us though a hands-on demo of the Si500 body-worn video camera including how it can work with TETRA and ASTRO radios:

       

      Hands-on Fingerprinting with Pronto Biometrics - Chief Inspector Ian Williams takes us through a detailed, hands-on demonstration of the Pronto Biometrics application and more:

       

      Hands-On Cybersecurity Demo - Paul Hill takes us through a hands-on cybersecurity demonstration:

       

      Disaster Relief Scenario - Tunde Williams explains how new techniques including real-time video augmentation can be used to help incident commanders:

       

      Critical Communications World 2018 Highlights - As the show draws to a close Tunde Williams shares his highlights:

       

      If you are receiving this blog post by email, the links to individual videos may be missing. You can access them in our YouTube Playlist instead – Critical Communications World 2018

      I hope you enjoyed this selection.

      You can also catch up with everything CCW on our dedicated microsite at www.motorolasolutions.com/ccw 

       

      Paul Jeffs

      Paul Jeffs is Public Safety Editorial Lead for Europe, Middle-East and Africa at Motorola Solutions.

      Paul is on LinkedIn

      Follow @MotSolsEMEA on Twitter and look out for #ThinkPublicSafety

    • Modernising Your TETRA System as Part of a Long Term Sustainment Plan Author: Ricardo Gonzalez

      Published Mar 29 2018, 2:35 PM by Paul Jeffs

      As an operator of a public safety private mobile radio system, you face a complex set of challenges. How will you keep pace with rapid technological change? How can you profitably grow your network’s user base? What about cyber security? In truth, there are many more questions to which operators are seeking answers.

      So how can public safety PMR operators ensure that their radio system reliably and securely supports the mission-critical operations of users, while addressing their evolving requirements? Modernisation is key to addressing these challenges.

      Why you should invest in modernising your PMR network
      What are the risks of not doing anything? Failure to invest in the PMR network infrastructure will introduce a number of risks
            - Increased risk of system downtime due to aging hardware
            - Vulnerability to cyber attacks
            - Rising support costs due to obsolescence
            - Increased unpredictability of network maintenance costs
            - Inability to add new services and functionality required by users

      The need to address these risks and increase service flexibility has led to a growing number of PMR operators investing in network modernisation. For example, concerns about cyber crime and the need to implement new functionality were key drivers of City of Cape Town’s decision to modernise its TETRA public safety network. Following the upgrade to the TETRA system, City of Cape Town realised improvements in cyber security through enhanced encryption support and also greater flexibility in adding new features and additional capacity to the network. Read about City of Cape Town’s network modernisation here.

      To be effective, network modernisation must be part of a long term network sustainment plan that includes:
            - Network updates covering both hardware and software
            - Security updates
            - 24 x 7 x 365 technical support
            - Fast turnaround times for network hardware repairs

      Enhancing your PMR service through broadband integration
      Modernisation is not just about network sustainability – it’s also about supporting the evolving operational needs of users. Increasingly, broadband data services are being demanded by public safety organisations to enable increased in-field productivity, improved situational awareness and reduced operational costs. Additionally, broadband push-to-talk technology is allowing public safety organisations to extend the reach of their networks by leveraging the wide area coverage of commercial mobile networks.

      But, a concern for the public safety community is whether mission-critical voice and data services delivered over broadband networks can match the performance and functionality of established PMR systems such as TETRA and APCO Project 25. With the ongoing standardisation work within 3GPP to introduce mission-critical functionality, the prevailing view is that PMR networks and 4G and 5G systems will coexist for many years in order to get the best of both worlds.

      The good news is that PMR operators are uniquely positioned to address public safety needs and to offer a differentiated service. For example, PMR operators can use their existing Key Management Facility for the management and distribution of encryption keys to both radio and broadband users. This can be achieved today using Motorola Solutions LTE handheld devices equipped with the μCryptr hardware security module.

      Modern PMR systems such as DIMETRA X Core provide seamless, wireline interfaces with broadband systems. Integration of broadband services with PMR unlocks value and creates a platform for delivering truly differentiated services. For example, by integrating broadband PTT technology with their networks, public safety PMR operators can target a new segment of non-radio users that require talkgroup interoperability from their smartphone devices. The addition of such services creates revenue generation opportunities, providing a vital funding source for ongoing network investments in support of the long term technology sustainment plan.

      Forward-thinking PMR operators have already started adopting this self sustaining approach to network modernisation. For example, Spain’s Telecom Castilla-La Mancha recently transitioned their legacy TETRA system to the DIMETRA X Core platform - read the press release about it here. Integrated with the TETRA system was the WAVE interoperability solution, which enabled Telecom CLM to extend PTT communication across multiple platforms (radio, broadband networks, computers, smartphones) allowing users on different networks to be connected.

      Network Modernisation

      To unlock the full potential of your PMR system, it is vital that you work with the right technology partner. It is important that your technology partner can support you for the long term with the right level of service, technology expertise and experience in deploying public safety systems.

      Ricardo Gonzalez

      Ricardo Gonzalez is MSSSI VP EMEA Strategy and Marketing at Motorola Solutions

      Connect with Ricardo on LinkedIn

       

      Follow #ThinkPublicSafety, @MotsolsEMEA on Twitter

      Join Us

       

    • Ensuring Communications Uptime Author: Graeme Casey

      Published Mar 16 2018, 12:06 PM by Paul Jeffs

      A seamless, reliable network is essential to business- and mission-critical communications. From public safety and the military to transportation and logistics, organisations around the world rely on land mobile radio (LMR) systems as their go-to communications network.

      Since the 1930s and the early days of simple analogue two-way radios, LMR technology has undergone a massive transformation. Today’s LMR systems are software-defined and IP-based to meet users’ evolving need. And like all IT-based systems, whether shared or used by a single entity, they are not immune to cyberattacks.

      As a result, how they are maintained and supported requires a new breed of resources and expertise. System operators must be knowledgeable not only about the equipment but also about the IP- and software-centric network components to ensure communication is secure and available 24x7x365.

      How you manage your LMR system is vital to maximising uptime and limiting disruptions. Around the world, users are tackling this challenge in a variety of ways—from regular system updates and continuous network monitoring to proactive cybersecurity strategies and system performance trends and analysis.

      To gain a clearer picture of the measures that system operators are applying to their networks, Motorola Solutions is conducting an LMR system management survey.

      Our research report will provide insights into several compelling areas:

      • Support and maintenance services that your peers are using to support their LMR systems
      • Cybersecurity measures being taken to address and respond to threats
      • Best practices for minimising network downtime and improving system performance
      • Future system management priorities

      LMR systems operators and customers are invited to share their experiences and insights in our inaugural survey. The results will be used to help stakeholders and individuals responsible for ensuring system uptime improve their performance by learning from one another and gaining insights into the best ways to tackle the challenges of this complex communications environment.
       
      Click here to get started.

      For every survey completed, Motorola Solutions will donate $5 USD to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) or International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC). (Total donations will be capped at $2,500 USD.). Once our study is complete, we will be happy to share the results with you.

      Graeme Casey

      Graeme is Global Service Portfolio Manager at Motorola Solutions

      Connect with Graeme on LinkedIn

      Follow #ThinkPublicSafety, @MotsolsEMEA on Twitter

      Join Us

       

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