The fourth generation of critical communications technology is all about, you guessed it – data.
That’s according to Kevin Graham, the CEO of The Critical Communications Association (TCCA), who spoke recently at a Hytera-sponsored conference in Istanbul.
“The ability to utilise information requires broadband, spectrum, as well as much more complex technology as well as a broader depth across the entire ecosystem. Unlike before, these data centric services are already largely available via commercial networks on standardised 3G PP technologies,” he said.
The second generation focused on introducing efficient digital technologies that provided clear and versatile voice messaging applications. While professional mobile radio (PMR) is still “quite prevalent” around the world, he said, many corners of the world are now looking forward.
“The big step now is to find a way to mission critical LTE and 5G and beyond,” Graham said.
To get there, there are three things to consider: technology, the environment and the users.
“For technology to be viable at large scale, it needs to be internationally standardised. The functionality required needs to meet the user requirements. And implementations need to be easily deployed and deliverable by industry,” Graham said.
On the environment front, it’s crucial to understand the local situation, including the current legal and regulatory environment. It also includes “moving from siloed operations towards shared networks in a broadband mission critical context” would be supported, he said.
The ability to finance a solution has to also be considered when looking at the environment. Beyond initial capital commitments, the cost of rollouts, upgrades and the evolution of a system have to be taken into account.
Finally, the users and their needs and wants are paramount.
“One of the most important areas is to focus on the users. For years, the users who have relied on our LMR [land mobile radio] systems have trusted them. They were, in most cases, closed networks that are well protected and those users become reliant because they’ve trusted in those networks for so long,” Graham said. “Consequently, we need to ensure that the same trust in any critical broadband deployment can meet their needs.”
5G broadband deployment globally is on the rise. According to Ericsson, 5G population coverage hit about 25 percent as of the end of 2021. By 2027, it’s projected to reach around 95 percent.
“There’s going to be a massive deployment of 4G and 5G over the next few years,” he said. But using those newly deployed networks for critical communications still requires work.
Standardisation, for starters, has to come first.
“We’ve reached a point where we’re building standardisation. A lot of countries are looking at how they need to review their regulation, understand what their access to spectrum is, and that has a bearing on what their options may be for implementation of mission critical services to the sector,” he said. “The next phase is around [greater] standardisation, certification, a wider rollout, service uptake, agencies getting used to the capability of these mission critical broadband services and that involves a new range of operational models so they can harness the benefits of these additional feature rich networks.”
