Understanding Two-Way Radio Technology

TETRA, APCO, iDEN, Tetrapol, OpenSky, EDACS, MPT 1327, LTR, SmartNet, Trunked, Conventional, Digital Radio, TDMA, FDMA, VHF, UHF, data over radio, multi slot packet data, etc, etc. What they are all about? If you are new to the two-way radio world, you may be confused with these terms. You have come to the right place to learn two-way radio technology the easiest way.

Introduction
What is Two-Way Radio
A two-way radio is simply a radio that can both transmit and receive (a transceiver). In broader terms, most of voice wireless communications systems, including cellular system, fall into two-way radio definition. In this web site, two-way radio refers to radio system mainly used for group call communication. This two-way radio system is also known as Professional Mobile Radio (PMR), Land Mobile Radio (LMR), Private Mobile Radio (PMR), Public Access Mobile Radio (PAMR) system. A portable two-way radios are often called walkie-talkies or handie-talkies. Two-way radios are also available in mobile and base configurations as well as utilizing radio network infrastructure. A two-way radio is typically equipped with a Push-To-Talk PTT button to activate the transmitter. User just simply presses the PTT button and can immediately start to talk. User releases the PTT button to listen to others. Two-way radio can talk directly to other radios or use radio network infrastructure. A direct talk among radios (usually also known as direct more operation, talk around mode) has limited range due to limitation of radio power. To overcome this limitation, a radio network infrastructure can be utilized to extend communication range.

Why Two-Way Radio

With various wireless technology options and two-way radio being one of the earliest wireless technologies, one may question whether two-way radio is still a viable technology today. The answer is yes and the following are the 2 key points that uniquely differentiate two-way radio to other wireless technology: 1. Instant communication Two-way radio provides instant communication. User just need to press the Push-To-Talk (PTT) button and within fraction of a second, this user can immediately talk to convey his/her messages. This is due to a quick call set-up time imbedded in the technology. This instant communication capability is one of key factors of why many organizations rely on two-way radio for their tactical or operational communications.

2. Group communication

Another distinct feature of two-way radio is its capability to facilitate oneto-many group communication (also known as "group call") very efficiently. By efficient means that one user can talk to one, five, tens, hundreds, thousands of users at the same time. User dont need to repeat the same message over and over again if he/she need to convey to more than one user. In addition, two-way radio performs the group communication using minimum RF channel resources. If all of users reside in the same area, most of the time, you only need one channel resources to talk to these hundreds of users.

Why Not Other Wireless System

Every wireless technology has their advantages and disadvantages. The choice of which technology is the most suitable for ones organization depends on whether that particular technology can meet the user requirement. For those users who need to: Work in a group Communicate instantly, and Mobile Two-way radio can be considered as appropriate solution compared to other wireless technology. Following are the reason why other wireless technology, such as public cellular network, may not be able to meet the above requirement: Communicate Instantly Imagine you are in the field and face an emergency situation and need to communicate immediately to declare your situation. If you are using a cellular phone, for example, you need to dial a number, wait for a while when the call is being set-up and connected, ring at the other side and finally answered. This process can take a few second and during that valuable time, your emergency situation can become worsen. With two-way radio, you just press the PTT button and shout out emergency to get attention and immediate help. Of course, this is assuming that RF channel are available. We will discuss later on two-way radio features that can overcome RF channel congestion and give highest priority for emergency users, a feature that are not available in other wireless technology. Group communication Say you need to inform your 5 staff that a meeting has been rescheduled. If you call them one-by-one, it will take sometimes. With two-way radio, you just select your talkgroup and press the PTT button and start to talk to your 5 staff at the same time. Now, just imagine if you need to broadcast your message to 1000 staff in the field. While some wireless system allows a group calling, it typically limits the number of group member that you can talk at one time. With two-way radio, you just need to talk once and heard by many.

Who Are The Users

Two-way radio has been used for many years by various organizations and industries. Due to the nature of their operational needs, they have to utilize two-way radio to address their communication needs. Examples of organizations and industries that rely on two-way radio are: Public Safety organization: Police, Fire Brigade, Emergency Medical Services / Ambulance, Disaster Recovery agency Security: Military, Intelligence agencies Transportation: Railway, Airport, Seaport, Light Rail, Subway Oil & Gas companies Utility companies: Electricity, Gas, Water, Telephone, Cable TV Transport Service companies: Taxi, Limos, Trucking Construction companies: Commercial, Residential, Road and Bridge Hospitality industries: Hotel, Resort, Restaurant, Tourism Government agencies: Ministries, Local government, Municipal, Embassies, Public Works Services industry: Delivery companies, Towing companies Manufacturing Contractors: Electrical, Excavating, Plumbing, Roofing And many others...

In other words, users of two-way radio are any agencies or businesses with multiple staff or workers who work in group and mobile.

The Basics
In general, two-way radio technology can be classified as follows: Based on channel allocation: Conventional system Conventional system is the most basic radio communications system. Conventional, as its name implies, refers to a "traditional" method of frequency utilization. Conventional radios operate on fixed channels and each user group is permanently assigned a fixed frequency or a set of frequencies. In the case of radios with multiple channels, they operate on one channel at a time. The proper channel is selected by a user. Typically, the user operates a channel selector or buttons on the radio control panel to select the channel. In multi-channel systems, channels are used to separate purposes. A channel may be reserved for a specific function or for a geographic area. In a functional channel system, one channel may allow a road repair crews to talk to the road maintenance office. A second channel may allow road repair crews to communicate with state highway

department crews. In a geographic system, a taxi company may use one channel to communicate in the northern area and a second channel when taxis are in southern area. One key basic principal to remember when using radio is that only one radio can use one frequency (RF channel) at any one time. If two radios attempt to transmit in the same frequency at the same time, signal collision will happen and cause interferences. Thus, it is important for radio user to be disciplined when using radio to: Check if no one talking at that particular frequency or channel If channel is occupied, wait until no one talk More often than not, in congested area with limited frequency, multiple groups share the same frequency which can cause interferences if users are not discipline.

Communication modes
Radio communications can utilize one of 3 modes: 1. Simplex This is a mode where both transmitter and receiver operate on the same frequency. User cannot listen or talk simultaneously and only one radio can talk at any one time, while others listen. This mode is used by the most basic radio communication. Radio to radio communication like the FRS walkie-talkie uses this mode. Another example is aircraft VHF AM and marine radios. Simplex systems often use open architectures that allow any radio meeting basic standards to be compatible with the system. It allows old radios to work with new ones in a single network. This gives advantages as simplex systems are often legacy systems that have existed for years or decades and the large number of radios installed (the installed base,) can take decades to upgrade. 2. Half-Duplex This is a mode where transmitters operate on one frequency, receivers on another. User cannot listen or talk simultaneously. This mode of operation requires a pair of two frequencies, one for transmit and one for receive. This mode is commonly used for repeater or base station operation. In repeater operation mode, all mobiles/portables radios in the system can hear the repeater transmission, but mobiles/portables cannot hear each other. Only the repeater can hear all mobile and portable radios. 3. Full-Duplex In this mode, transmitters operate on one frequency, receivers on another but user can listen and talk simultaneously. This mode of operation requires a pair of two frequencies, one for transmit and one for receive. One example of this mode is cellular phone where the signals flow in two directions simultaneously. The above three modes of operation (or combination of them) are present in most twoway radio system. Some systems use a mix of simplex/duplex where radios use halfduplex as a default but can communicate simplex on the base station channel if out-ofrange. The capability to talk simplex on a duplex channel with a repeater is called talkaround or direct mode operation.

Scanning in conventional radios

For user who works and belong to multiple groups which use different channels, it is difficult for them to monitor each channel. Automatic scanning features can be used to assist to scan every assigned channel when his/her current channel is idle and stop in a channel that is in use. This way, the user will be able to automatically follow conversation in different group. Of course, this user can only participate in one group at any one time. Some conventional radios scan more than one channel. That is, the receivers searches more than one channel for a valid transmission. A valid channel is a radio channel but may also require that a signal have a specific signaling such as CTCSS code. There are a wide variety of scan configurations which vary from one system to another.

Trunked System

The concept of trunking is taken from telephone company technology and practice. It refers to the sharing of common resources among a number of different users on the same system without overhearing or interfering with each others conversations. Trunked takes advantage of the probability that in any given number of user units, not everyone will need resources access at the same time. Therefore with a given number of users, fewer discrete resources are required.

In a trunked radio system, the system logic automatically selects the physical radio frequency channel (the resources) without user interference. There is a protocol that defines a relationship between the radios and the radio network which supports them. The protocol allows channel assignments to happen automatically. This arrangement allows multiple groups of users to share a small set of actual radio frequencies without hearing each others' conversations. Trunked systems primarily conserve limited radio frequencies and also provide other advanced features to users. Instead of channels, radios are related by groups which may be called, groups, talk groups, or divided into a hierarchy such as fleet and sub-fleet, or agency-fleet-sub-fleet. These can be thought of as virtual channels which appear and disappear as conversations occur.

"Trunked" radio systems differ from "conventional" radio systems in that a conventional radio system uses a dedicated channel (frequency) for each individual group of users, while "trunking" radio systems use a pool of channels which are available for a great many different groups of users.

Systems make arrangements for handshaking and connections between radios by one of these two methods: A computer assigns channels over a dedicated control channel. The control channel sends a continual data stream. All radios in the system monitor the data stream until commanded by the computer to join a conversation on an assigned channel.

Electronics embedded in each radio communicate using a protocol of tones or data in order to establish a conversation, (scan-based).

If all physical channels are busy, systems include a protocol to queue or stack pending requests until a channel becomes available.

Benefit of Trunked Radio System

Efficient use of channel (spectrum) resources o Shared traffic among communication paths o Increased probabilities of obtaining free channel Privacy of communications due to each group uses one channel exclusively during the duration of the call Eliminate the need to monitor the channel before transmitting. User just PTT and the system will take care to find available channel for the call Redundancy of channel resources. If one channel is down, all reminder channels can still be used by all groups As trunked system has intelligence control, there are more features available that are not found in conventional system. Some examples are queuing when all channels are occupied, automatic call back when channel is available, multiple priority level, automatic retry, etc.

Based on signal transmission: Analog system Analog radio transmit analog signal over-the-air. Our original voice, which is in analog format, is modulated and amplified inside the radio before transmitted. There is no additional computer processing (i.e. digitization) inside analog radio. Analog radio system continuously transmits radio waves that are usually modulated by a voice. One example of analog radios is FM radio broadcasting services. Another is AM aircraft radios used to communicate between control towers and air traffic controllers. A walkietalkie, like the Family Radio Service available, to the public is another example of analog radio. Advantages of analog radio system Equipment is less complex than digital. This typically lead to cheaper equipment price In certain conditions, still able to communicate in areas where a received signal is already weak where digital system has already cut-off the signal. Interoperability among analog radio products from different vendors (for conventional system)

Disadvantages of analog radio system Voice quality highly depends on the environment and can easily get interference. As user move away from an analog radio transmitting site, the signal quality decreases gradually while noise level increase. Less functionality and features compared to digital radio Less spectrum efficiency: Only one conversation at a time can occur on each analog channel

Digital system
Digital radio has additional processing inside the radio to convert the original analog voice into digital format (ones and zeros) before transmitting the signal in digital form overthe-air. The receiving radio receives the digital signal and converts it back into analog signal so the user can hear the voice.

Examples of digital radio are radios that comply to APCO-25 standard or TETRA standard. The Sprint Nextels iDEN radio is another example of digital radio. The digitalization is done by sampling the voice frequency and then changing the sampled information to ones and zeros. This is done using an electronic circuit called a voice coder or vocoder. Depending on type of vocoding techniques, the vocoder also compressed the resulting sample so that it can fit into a narrower bandwidth. Examples of speech coding (vocoding) technique are IMBE (Improved Multi Band Excitation) used by APCO-25 standard or VSELP (Vector Sum Excited Linear Prediction) used by TETRA standard.

Advantage of digital radio system Better and Consistent Voice Quality Because the receiving radio just need to identify the binary information (ones and zeros), the receiving radio can replicate the original voice as long as its able to identify the ones and zeros signal. Thus, a digital signal has fairly consistent quality as it moves away from the transmitter until it reaches a threshold distance. Voice Privacy As digital radio systems send voice transmissions in digital form, listeners using an FM analog scanner hear only noise on the channel. This gives an added benefit for privacy from public news organization or casual listeners. Improved Encrypted Voice Quality To further secure the over-the-air transmission from listeners who have more sophisticated equipment, an encryption feature is required. Encrypted voice protects the voice message from being intercepted and understood by listeners. On analog radio systems, voice scrambling may cause audio quality to vary. For years, many users have accepted degraded audio quality for the benefit of secure voice transmissions. With digital radio systems, encrypted voice has no perceived

degradation of quality where encrypted voice sounds the same as clear voice on a digital radio system. Integrated Voice and Data Services One of the most significant benefits of digital radio systems is that the integration between voice and data services is greatly improved. Because the voice transmissions are treated as data, there is much better and tighter integration between voice and external data devices. In addition, digital transmissions overthe-air are further improved for error protection, a great feature for wireless mobility. The integration of voice and data is one of the compelling reasons why users want to upgrade their system to digital. Enhanced Signaling Features Because digital voice transmissions are already in digital format over-the-air, it is now possible to imbed more signaling features in the same voice transmissions. Today, analog radios have signaling features, but these tend to be limited to smaller amounts of data than the digital equivalent. Digital radios allow for the signaling to be transmitted continuously and concurrently with the voice transmissions. These signaling features furnish quick and appropriate information alongside the voice, such as the caller identification in which the recipient can identify the sender, call alert feature or text message. Other enhanced features are also possible using these embedded digital signaling features. Improved Spectrum Efficiency Digital radio system offers the capability to serve more users than in the same comparable analog spectrum. This is due to the use of compression during vocoding process. The resulting compressed information can be then send using narrower band with while maintaining similar original quality. By using narrower bandwidth, it allows more simultaneous talking paths in one analog channel spectrum. This benefit is important in an environment where regulatory body constraints spectrum utilization.

Disadvantages of digital radio system: Need more complex equipment than analog radio which may lead to higher cost to purchase Radios must be designed to follow the same digital protocol (i.e. vocoding / compression techniques, access method, digital modulation, etc) to allows interoperability among different products. An open standard is usually required in digital radio to ensure products compatibility As digital radio moves away from the transmitter and reach a threshold distance, the signal quality takes a nose dive and can no longer be understood whereas the analog radio can still receive the signal even though with high noise level

Based on access method:

Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)

FDMA or Frequency Division Multiple Access is an access method that is used by radio systems to share the radio spectrum. The terminology multiple access implies the sharing of the resource amongst users, and the frequency division describes how the sharing is done: by allocating users with different carrier frequencies of the radio spectrum.

In FDMA the given Radio Frequency (RF) bandwidth is divided into smaller frequency bands called subdivisions. Each subdivision has its own carrier frequency. A control mechanism is used to ensure that two or more earth stations do not transmit in the same subdivision at the same time. Essentially, the control mechanism designates a receive station for each of the subdivisions. Examples of radio technology that are utilizing FDMA are APCO-25, EDACS and Tetrapol

Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)

Note: There are some other access methods such as CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), SDMA (Space Division Multiple Access) and CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access). However, these access methods have not been used in two-way radio technology. TDMA or Time division multiple access is an access method that is used by radio systems to share the radio spectrum. The terminology multiple access implies the sharing of the resource amongst users, and the time division describes how the sharing is done: by dividing and allocating users into different timeslots in a carrier frequency of the radio spectrum. The shared users transmit in rapid succession, one after the other, each using his own timeslot. This allows multiple users to share the same transmission medium (e.g. radio frequency) while using only the part of its bandwidth they require. TDMA is used in the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Personal Digital Cellular (PDC). It is also used extensively in satellite systems, local area networks, physical security systems, and combat-net radio systems. Examples of radio technology that are utilizing TDMA are TETRA, OpenSky and iDEN

Based on standard acceptance:

Open standard

Open standards in two-way radio refers to technology that has specifications that are publicly available. These standard is endorsed by an internationally recognized standard body and supported by multiple manufacturers. By allowing anyone to obtain and implement the standard, they can increase compatibility between various hardware and software components, since anyone with the necessary technical know-how and resources can build products that work together with those of the other vendors that base their designs on the standard (although patent holders may impose "reasonable and non-discriminatory" royalty fees and other licensing terms on implementers of the standard). Currently, there are only 2 open standard for digital two-way radio system: APCO-25, a s a standard developed by TIA TETRA, as standard developed by ETSI

TIA and ETSI are both internationally recognized standard body. One interesting note for open standard in two-way radio is that currently, the standard defines only certain interfaces. And both APCO-25 and TETRA standard do not define interface between switching system and base station. In other word, manufacturers need to use their proprietary design for switching and base station. For users, this means that they can not interchange switching system from one vendor with base station from other vendors.

Proprietary System
Proprietary system in two-way radio refers to technology specifically developed by a manufacturer and specifications are not made publicly available. In some cases, a proprietary system from one manufacturer becomes a de-facto standard as several other manufacturers also produce accessories or even product. Sometimes the proprietor (holder of proprietary system) give a right to other manufacturer to produce the product. Of course with the commercial terms, etc. This happens when the proprietary products have been widely accepted and have a large number of user base.

Frequency Band / Spectrum

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defined frequency spectrum as follows:

VLF LF MF HF VHF UHF SHF EHF

Very Low Frequency Low Frequency Medium Frequency High Frequency Very High Frequency Ultra High Frequency Super High Frequency Extremely High Frequency

< 30 KHz 30 300 KHz 300 3,000 KHz 3 30 MHz 30 300 MHz 300 3,000 MHz 3 30 GHz 30 3,000 GHz

In Two-Way Radio world, while the generic terms still follow the above definition, there are specific definition applies to Land Mobile/Two-Way Radio spectrum. The following table shows frequency spectrum division commonly known in Land Mobile or Two-Way Radio products. Note that the definition is not rigid as various sources may slightly use different terms for the exact frequency band.

HF VHF

High Frequency Very High Frequency -VHF comes with various sub-band such as: Low Band: 25 50 MHz Mid Band: 72 76 MHz High Band: 132 174 MHz

3 25 MHz 25 174 MHz

UHF

Ultra High Frequency UHF comes with various sub-band such as: 380 400 450 470 MHz MHz MHz MHz band: band: band: band: 380 400 450 470 400 430 470 512 MHz MHz MHz MHz

350 512 MHz

800 MHz

UHF 800 MHz Band In many countries, 800 MHz band has been allocated with 45 MHz separation so the typical 800 MHz spectrum is: 806 825 MHz / 851 870 MHz

806 870 MHz

The Technology
There are many two-way radio technology available today. The following lists the most well known radio technology. The table shows each of technology in terms of whether it is analog or digital, and whether it is conventional or trunked. Note that the analog conventional is the most basic and well known technology. We will not discuss analog conventional system in this site.

Conventional

Trunked

APCO-16

Analog

Analog conventional radio

EDACS LTR MPT 1327

APCO-25 DMR DMR APCO-25 EDACS iDEN OpenSky TETRA Tetrapol

Digital

ANALOG

APCO-16
Association of Public Safety Communications Officials Project 16 Open Standard/Proprietary Analog/Digital FDMA/TDMA Conventional/Trunked Typical frequency band Channel bandwidth See note below Analog FDMA Trunked VHF/UHF/800 25/30 kHz (typical)

* APCO-16 defines operational / functional requirement for a trunked system but does not restrict manufacturers to develop their own design

What is APCO-16
APCO-16 (Association of Public Safety Communications Officials Project 16) was an effort to establish basic requirements for a typical public safety communications system. The result was an operational/functional (non-technical) standard to which many manufacturers have responded. The recommendation was established in 1979. It was the foundation for the further efforts of Project 25, which continued beyond Project 16 to define technical standards. APCO-16 addressed specific characteristics and functional capabilities of trunked radio systems. The intention was to create a system concept that would satisfy the minimum needs of all potential users and permit the inclusion of more complex requirements needed by some communities then or in the future. APCO-16 published documents define the mandatory and desirable functional capabilities for a public safety analog trunked radio system. The specifications include recommendations for analog voice modulations and trunking functions for use of the RF spectrum. As APCO-16 recommendations focus more on trunking functional specification, it does not specify how manufacturer should design the system. Manufacturers are not restricted to develop their own design to meet the required functionalities in APCO-16 recommendation. Many APCO-16 compliant products uses 3600 baud control channel for its signaling protocol. Examples of products that complies to APCO-16 definition are SmartNet and SmartZone trunked system developed by Motorola.

Features and Capabilities

Project 16 addressed such characteristics and capabilities as: Channel access times Automated priority recognition

 Data systems interfaces Individuality of system users Command and control flexibility System growth capability Frequency utilization, and Reliability These capabilities bring improved features compared to previously available analog trunked system.

Spectrum Utilization
As this is an analog technology, typically, APCO-16 products follow 25 or 30 KHz radio channel utilization. Thus, one 25 KHz radio channel supports one voice conversation.

Frequency Band
Following are the APCO-16 frequency bands that are typically found in the market today: 136 174 MHz (VHF) 403 512 MHz (UHF) 800 MHz Band

LTR
Logic Trunked Radio Open Standard/Proprietary Analog/Digital FDMA/TDMA Conventional/Trunked Typical frequency band Channel bandwidth Proprietary Analog FDMA Trunked UHF/800/900 25 kHz

What is LTR
LTR (Logic Trunked Radio) is a signaling protocol for analog trunked radio system developed by the E. F. Johnson Company in the late 1970s. It was primarily used by private companies such as taxicabs, utilities, delivery trucks, and repair services and it is not very popular with public safety agencies. LTR is distinguished from some other common Trunked Radio Systems in that it does not have a dedicated control channel. It uses distributed control concept. Each repeater has its own controller and all of these controllers are coordinated together. Even though each controller monitors its own channel, one of the channel controllers is assigned to be a master and all the other controllers report to it. The signaling protocol for LTR uses 300 baud control channel. Typically on LTR systems, each of these controllers periodically sends out a data burst (approximately every 10 seconds on LTR Standard systems) so that the subscriber units know that the system is there. The idle data burst can be turned off if desired by the system operator. Some systems will broadcast idle data bursts only on channels used as home channels and not on those used for "overflow" conversations. To a listener, the idle data burst will sound like a short blip of static like someone keyed up and unkeyed a radio within about 1/2 second. This data burst is not sent at the same time by all the channels but happen randomly throughout all the system channels.

Note: the product has been discontinued.

Features and Capabilities

From end user point of view, LTR provides: Group call Individual call Telephone Interconnect Call

Spectrum Utilization
LTR utilizes Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) technique to utilize spectrum. LTR utilizes 25 KHz bandwidths. Thus, one 25 KHz radio channel supports one voice conversation.

Frequency Band
The current available product in the market today offers the following frequency bands: UHF Band 800 MHz Band 900 MHz Band

MPT 1327
Ministry of Posts and Telegraph 1327 Open Standard/Proprietary Analog/Digital FDMA/TDMA Conventional/Trunked Typical frequency band Channel bandwidth Open Analog FDMA Trunked VHF/UHF/800 25, 20, 12.5, 10 kHz

What is MPT 1327

MPT 1327 (Ministry of Posts and Telegraph 1327) is a signaling protocol standard for analog trunked radio. It was developed in 1988 by the British Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The standard defines the protocol rules for communication between a trunking system controller (TSC) and users' radio units and it defines only the over-air signaling and imposes only minimum constraints on system design. The signaling protocol for MPT1327 uses 1200 baud control channel. Systems based on MPT 1327 generally consist of several radio channels. At least one of these channels is defined as the control channel (CC) and all other channels are traffic channels (TCs). Data messages between mobiles and the network are exchanged on the control channel at 1200 bits per second. Each subscriber in an MPT-1327 trunked radio network has a unique call number. It consists of a prefix (3 digits), the fleet number (4 digits) and the subscribers call number within the fleet (2 or 3 digits). After it has been entered the call number will be converted in the mobile to a 20-bit address. For the duration of the call a subscriber is exclusively allocated a traffic channel from the available trunk.

Features and Capabilities

The different types of communications on an MPT-1327 network and their definitions: Traffic types: Mobile-mobile in a cell Mobile-mobile in different cells Mobile-line access unit via landline or radio Mobile-dispatcher station via landline or radio Mobile-PABX, Mobile-PSTN Short Data Communication: Status messages on the CC (5-bit data length) Short data messages on the CC (186-bit data length) Transparent data transmission on the TC (data communication). Calls: Point to point connections Group calls

Spectrum Utilization
MPT1327 utilizes Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) technique to utilize spectrum. MPT1327 utilizes 25, 20, 12.5, 10 KHz bandwidths. Thus, MPT1327 has flexibility in utilizing available spectrum. Systems using 10kHz, 12.5kHz and 25kHz channel spacing have been deployed in North America.

Frequency Band
The current available product in the market today offers the following frequency bands: VHF UHF 800 MHz Band

DIGITAL

APCO-25
Association of Public Safety Communications Officials Project 25

Open Standard/Proprietary Analog/Digital FDMA/TDMA Conventional/Trunked Typical frequency band Channel bandwidth

Open Digital FDMA Both VHF/UHF/800 25/12.5 kHz

* The standard allows analog mode in radio terminal for backward compatibility with analog radio

What is APCO-25
APCO-25 (Association of Public Safety Communication Officials Project 25) is an open standard for digital radio developed in North America under state, local and federal representatives and Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) governance. The standard was developed to foster the development and progress of the art of public safety communications. In 1989, APCO formed a Working Group, called APCO Project 25, to work on development of a digitally trunked radio system specifications tailored to public safety needs. Project 25 was established to provide an industry-wide effort to set standards for uniform digital two way radio communications for public safety and emergency services. APCO-25 brings together representatives from various associations and agencies to obtain as many contributions as possible to make the resulting specification a world standard for digital land public safety mobile radio. The objective is to find solutions that best serve the needs of the public safety marketplace. In addition, the committee has encouraged the participation of numerous international public safety organizations, making this a worldwide recommended standard-setting initiative. Worldwide interest has been generated due to the standards process being pursued by users working closely with the industry. As APCO is an association representing users, assistance was sought from industry in developing the standard. The Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA) provided technical support and the mechanics of standard writing, which has made the resulting specification (ANSI/TIA 102) into a national industry standard. Published P25 standards

suite is administered by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA Mobile and Personal Private Radio Standards Committee TR-8). APCO-25, APCO-Project 25, APCO-P25 are all refer to the same standard name.

APCO P25 Capabilities and Features

From end user point of view, APCO-25 provides, among others: Group call Individual call Telephone Interconnect Call Wireless data Integrated Voice and Data Secured network with encryption Talk Around mode Backward compatibility with analog Advanced radio features and capabilities such as Dynamic Grouping, emergency call, etc

Spectrum Utilization
APCO P25 utilizes Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) techniques to achieve spectrum efficiency. At present, APCO can achieve up to 2 (two) voice channels in one 25 KHz radio channel.

Frequency Band
Frequency bands for APCO-25 products that are typically found in the market today: 136 174 MHz (VHF) 403 512 MHz (UHF) 800 MHz Band

Backward Compatibility with Analog

APCO-25 standard allows backward compatibility with analog system. APCO-25 radio can directly interoperate with analog radios that are using the same frequency (note: direct interoperation here means direct communication among radios without using network infrastructure). With this capability, APCO-25 allows some smooth migration from analog system to digital. Users who already own analog system can migrate to digital by phases. Thus, users can decide to upgrade to digital system based on their needs, timing and resources.

Trunked and Conventional in One Network

APCO-25 supports combination of conventional and/or trunked system in one network. This gives user an advantage to have an option to deploy trunked system in high density area and conventional in less density area.

DMR Digital Mobile Radio

Open Standard/Proprietary Analog/Digital FDMA/TDMA Conventional/Trunked Typical frequency band Channel bandwidth

Open Standard Digital FDMA/TDMA Both 446/VHF/UHF 12.5/6.25 kHz

What is DMR
DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) is a digital radio standard for Professional Mobile Radio (PMR) users developed by ETSI under its ERM Technical Committee. The standard is designed to operate within the existing channel spacing used in land mobile frequency bands in Europe. DMR is specifically targeted at small to medium sized PMR systems where analogue PMR is currently applied today. The primary goal of the DMR standardization is to specify a digital system with low complexity and low cost levels. It will provide voice, data and other supplementary services. The first release of the DMR Standard has been approved by ETSI. It is released as a Technical Standard TS 102 361 covering the Air interface (Part I) and Services and Facilities (Part II) for voice and data calls, for the 12.5 KHz TDMA protocol for Tier I and Tier II products. There are 3 tiers in the DMR standard: DMR Tier I products are for license-free use in the 446MHz band. Under Tier I, ETSI has also defined two Tier-1 protocols: o o DMR Tier-1 protocol utilizes 12.5kHz FDMA dPMR protocol utilizes 6.25kHz FDMA

Both protocols provide for consumer applications and low-power commercial applications, using a maximum of 0.5 watt RF power. With a limited number of channels and no use of repeaters, no use of telephone interconnects, and fixed/integrated antennas, Tier-1 DMR/dPMR devices are best suited for personal use, recreation, small retail and other settings that dont require wide area coverage and advanced features. DMR Tier II covers hand portables, mobiles and base stations operating in the VHF and UHF allocations for PMR. The ETSI DMR Tier-2 standard is targeted to those users who need spectral efficiency, advanced voice features and integrated IP data services in licensed bands for high-power communications. ETSI DMR Tier-2 calls for two slot TDMA in 12.5 kHz channels.

DMR Tier III products will support trunking operation.

The newly formed DMR MOU group is working on the interoperability specification for DMR radios. Manufacturers including Motorola, Vertex Standard, Kenwood, Icom and others are working on the development of products. As this standard is relatively new, there are not many products available in the market yet.

EDACS Enhanced Digital Access Communication System

Open Standard/Proprietary Analog/Digital FDMA/TDMA Conventional/Trunked Typical frequency band Channel bandwidth

Proprietary Both FDMA Trunked VHF/UHF/800/900 25/12.5 kHz

What is EDACS
EDACS (Enhanced Digital Access Communication System) is a trunked system that is available in both analog and digital air interface. This technology was invented by General Electric Corporation in mids 1980s. This system is based on a number of proprietary interfaces and protocols, for example, the air interface is proprietary as well as the digital vocoder, known as the Aegis Vocoder. EDACS is used in trunked repeater systems that include wide-area simulcast operation. EDACS was manufactured by ComNet Ericsson, headquarter in the US, and eventually was sold after the telecom meltdown. M/A-COM Inc, a holding of Tyco Electronics, acquired the asset and continue to support the product family.

Spectrum Utilization
EDACS utilizes Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) technique to utilize spectrum. EDACS support both 25 KHz and 12.5 KHz bandwidths. Thus, EDACS can achieve up to 2 voice channel in a 25 KHz radio channel.

Frequency Band
The current available product in the market today offers the following frequency bands: VHF UHF 800 Band 900 Band

iDEN Integrated Digital Enhanced Network

Open Standard/Proprietary Analog/Digital FDMA/TDMA Conventional/Trunked Typical frequency band Channel bandwidth

Proprietary Digital TDMA Trunked 800 25 kHz

What is iDEN
iDEN (integrated Enhanced Digital Network) is a digital trunked radio developed by Motorola which provides its users the benefits of a trunked radio and a cellular-like telephone services. It was first introduced in 1994. The technology supports multiple services in single devices. The Four-in-one service allows business users to take advantage of advanced wireless technologies with one pocket-sized digital handset that combines: two-way digital radio; digital wireless phone; short message services; and data capabilities leveraging Internet access technology. iDEN places more users in a given spectral space, compared to analog cellular and twoway radio systems, by using speech compression and time division multiple access TDMA. Using these technique, iDEN can achieve 6 time slots in one 25 KHz. iDEN handsets use SIM cards, just like GSM, and, in fact, the interconnect-side of the network uses GSM signaling for call set-up and mobility management, with the protocol stack modified to support iDEN's additional features. With its sleek and compact form factor, the iDEN handset looks similar to cellular handset. Various handset model are available. The iDEN handset features include color display, built-in GPS, WAP support, ruggedized (for some model), dual mode GSM/iDEN (some model) and other features comparable to cellular handset.

iDEN Capabilities and Features

From end user point of view, iDEN provides, among others, the following features and services: Group call Individual call Telephone Interconnect Call High Speed Wireless packet data (96 kbps over-the-air) Short Data Services Integrated Voice and Data

Spectrum Utilization
iDEN is the most spectrally efficient radio technology. iDEN utilizes Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) techniques to achieve spectrum efficiency. iDEN can achieve up to 6 (six) TDMA time slots in one 25 KHz radio channel.

Frequency Band
At present, iDEN supports frequency band in 800 MHz Band

OpenSky
Open Standard/Proprietary Analog/Digital FDMA/TDMA Conventional/Trunked Typical frequency band Channel bandwidth Proprietary Digital TDMA Trunked 700/800/AMPS Band 25 kHz

What is OpenSky
OpenSky is a wireless communication system, developed by a team of M/A-COM Inc., now a division of Tyco International's Electronics unit. OpenSky received the direct attention of Tyco when they acquired it along with Amp Corporation. The technology was originally developed for Federal Express in mid 1990s for its urban operations. The technology was developed to meet the requirement of higher message data speed compared to its previous system. It was initially designed as a wireless data system but the system can support both voice and data services. OpenSky technology applies voiceover-IP transport to radio communications applications in a unique architecture.

Spectrum Utilization
OpenSky utilizes TDMA with 4 (four) time slots to support both voice and data. The four time slots can be used for both voice and data simultaneously or can be aggregated to support 19.2 kbps throughput on a 25 KHz channel.

Frequency Band
Frequency bands for OpenSky products that are typically found in the market today: 700/800 Band AMPS Band

TETRA
Terrestrial Trunked Radio

Open Standard/Proprietary Analog/Digital FDMA/TDMA Conventional/Trunked Typical frequency band Channel bandwidth

Open Digital TDMA Trunked UHF/800 25 kHz

What is TETRA
TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio) is a digital trunked radio standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). ETSI is a standardization body for Information and Communication Technology in Europe. The purpose of the TETRA standard was to meet the needs of Professional Mobile Radio (PMR) user organizations. The first version of TETRA standard was published in 1995.

Because the TETRA standard has been specifically developed to meet the needs of a wide variety of PMR user organizations, it has a scaleable architecture allowing network deployments ranging from single site - local area coverage to multiple site - wide area national coverage. Besides meeting the needs of PMR user organizations, the TETRA standard has also been developed to meet the needs of Public Access Mobile Radio (PAMR) operators.

Recognizing that important market requirements outside the responsibility of ETSI needed to be addressed to ensure the success of TETRA, a number of organizations formed the TETRA MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) Association in December 1994. The main objectives of the TETRA Association are to promote the TETRA standard and to ensure multi-vendor equipment interoperability. This forum acts on behalf of all interested parties, representing users, manufacturers, application providers, integrators,

operators, test houses and telecom agencies who are involved in the development and or deployment of the TETRA standard. Today the TETRA Association represents over 135 organizations, from all continents of the world.

TETRA Capabilities and Features

From end user point of view, TETRA provides the following features and services: Group call Individual call Telephone Interconnect Call Wireless data: Circuit switch and/or packet data Integrated Voice and Data Secured network with authentication and encryption Direct Mode Operation Advanced radio features and capabilities such as Dynamic Grouping, emergency

Spectrum Utilization
TETRA utilizes Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) technique to achieve spectrum efficiency. TETRA can achieve up to 4 (four) TDMA time slots in one 25 KHz radio channel

Frequency Band
Frequency bands for TETRA products that are typically found in the market today: 380 - 400 MHz 410 430 MHz 800 MHz Band Some vendors have promised to provide some other band to meet requirement in specific market.

TETRAPOL
Open Standard/Proprietary Analog/Digital FDMA/TDMA Conventional/Trunked Typical frequency band Channel bandwidth See below* Digital FDMA Trunked UHF 12.5/10 kHz

* Tetrapol is not endorsed as standard by international standard body but it offers Publicly Available Specifications (PAS). This means that document specifying Tetrapol is available for any manufacturer that wants to develop Tetrapol compliant equipment.

What is Tetrapol

TETRAPOL is a digital trunked radio solution, originally developed in Europe. It was designed to meet the growing needs and expectations of Professional Mobile Radio (PMR) users such as Public Safety Forces, Transport or Industry.

Publicly Available Specifications

The Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) comprise 3,000 pages of technical specifications of Tetrapol open interfaces. This means that any manufacturer can use these specifications to develop equipment that is fully compatible with TETRAPOL networks. The document is managed by the TETRAPOL Forum's technical committee.

Features and Capabilities

From end user point of view, Tetrapol provides the following features and services: Group call

Individual call Telephone Interconnect Call Wireless data Integrated Voice and Data Secured network with authentication and encryption Advanced radio features and capabilities such as Dynamic Grouping, emergency call

Spectrum Efficiency
Tetrapol utilizes Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) technique to achieve spectrum efficiency. Each Tetrapol channel is divided into 12.5 KHz or 10 KHz radio channel thus Tetrapol can achieve up to 2 voice channel within a 25 KHz radio channel.

Frequency Band
At present, Tetrapol products in the market supports frequency band in 380 450 MHz

Most Installed Digital Radio Technology

The following list of the most installed digital radio technology are based solely on the author observation. The list shown are based on alphabetical order. Technology APCO-25 Why Many implementation worldwide; Popular due to Open Standard Largest user base; Worldwide implementation Many implementation worldwide; Popular due to Open Standard

iDEN

TETRA

The Components
The following diagram illustrates major components in two-way radio system. The diagram shows a typical wide area network.

Typical Network Component

In a typical configuration, a wide area radio network consists of 3 major components: Switching system Base Stations Radio Terminal Note that the above configuration applies to a wide area radio network. For a single site radio network, typically there is no centralized switching system. Its switching or commonly known as controller resides in the same physical location as Base Station. Thus, a single-site radio network consists of: Base station or site repeater (which includes site controller) Radio Terminal

Radio Terminal
Also known as: Subscribers Unit, Radio Unit, Mobile Station, Portable Radio, Mobile Radio, Fixed-Station Radio This is a device for the user to communicate and interface to the network. For end-users, they will mostly see these devices more often than the radio infrastructure itself. Thus, the ergonomics and performance of radio terminal (i.e. size, weight, battery life, user interface and ease of use) plays important role for end-users acceptance of radio system. In general, radio terminal can be classified into: Portable Radio This is the device that users can carry while in the move. Since users carry this device most of the time, the ergonomics of portable radio (i.e. size and weight) is one of important factors for users. However, size, weight and battery life are, among others, factors that limit the performance of radio unit. Portable radios usually have lower power output compared to mobile or fixed-station radio due to the above limitation factors. Thus, the range of portable radio is typically smaller than mobile or fixed-station radio. In many cases, portable radio with higher power comes with bigger form factors. Usually there will be a trade-off between the size of portable and power output. Either you can have smaller form factor radio but lower power or higher power but bigger form factor. Mobile Radio This is the device that permanently installed in a vehicle or a car. The size and weight of this mobile radio is bigger than portable radio but it usually does not really matter to user because mobile radio is permanently fixed into the vehicle (i.e. users do not have to carry a mobile radio). Typically, mobile radio has higher power output than portable radio due to its form factor which facilitate more components to produce higher power as well as it does not have issue with battery life (it uses vehicle battery for its power). Thus, the range of a mobile radio is usually greater than portable radio. Fixed-Station Radio This device is usually installed in a fixed location such as a branch office or a field post. Typically, a fixed-station radio is a mobile radio with a power supply, external microphone or speaker and better antenna system (such as directional antenna). Thus, the range of fixed-station radio is greater than mobile and portable radio.

Base Station or Repeater

Also known as: Site repeater, RF Repeater, Site This is a network component that provides RF coverage in a radio network. In typical configuration, a base station can consist of RF Repeater(s), Controller(s), antenna distribution system (i.e. duplexer, combiner, etc) and Power Supply.

In the traditional Two-way Radio world, the term Base Station is also known as a fixed station that receives a signal but do not re-broadcast the signal to other radio users in the system. This configuration allows an operator, commonly known as the dispatcher, sitting in the office to communicate with the radio terminals in the field. The term Repeater is used referring to a transceiver that receive a signal and re-transmit it at the same time. The primary purpose of repeaters is to extend coverage. The main difference between base station and repeater is that a repeater repeats a signal that it receives, a base station doesnt. Nowadays, the term of Base Station and Repeaters are often mixed referring to network component that provides RF coverage. In one radio network, there can be multiple base stations or repeaters to provide necessary coverage. In a wide area configuration, these base stations are connected to a central switch that manages the entire network. The connection from the base stations to switch is called a Site Link.

Switching System or Controller

Also known as: Central controller, central switch, Mobile Switching Office (MSO) This is a network component that manages the entire network. The switching system, for example, manages the traffic in and out and route the communication to and from base stations. Switching system is the brain of the network without which the network will not be able to handle wide area network calls. In typical configuration, a switching system can consist of multiple devices or equipments. Each equipment handles specific function. For example, one equipment handles the routing of the calls while the other handles interaction with base stations. More often than not, these devices or equipments are placed in rack(s) or cabinet(s). Depending on the complexity of the network, the switching system can have from one to tens of racks.

Mobile Switching Office (MSO)

Also known as: Switching system, Controller, Central controller, central switch This refers to physical location where all of network switching or controller is placed. This term is derived from cellular network for a common term to refer to its switching system. Since the switching system is located in one physical location, the generic term is Mobile Switching Office (MSO) with an office word added to emphasize a location that accommodates various equipment of the switch. In two-way radio, this term is sometimes also used to refer to the radio switching system, especially for radio network with complex switching system. A digital trunked radio system like iDEN, for example, has an architecture similar to a cellular system. Its switching system is as complex as the cellular system. Thus, the iDEN switching system sometimes refers to iDEN MSO.

Site Link
This is a facility to connect base station(s) to its switching system. Depending on the technology and products, site link can be E1, partial E1, microwave, 4W, fiber-optic network and any other means to connect base station to its switching with necessary bandwidth and performance. In many radio network installations, site link(s) can be leased from a telecom provider (i.e. E1 line) or owned by the organization (i.e. microwave). Leased line will typically incur a monthly recurring cost but has lower maintenance cost while privately owned link will need a higher capital expenditure to buy the equipment and maintenance expenses but organizations do not to need to pay monthly subscription like leased line. There are several discussions on the use of satellite as site link. The long delay of satellite link is one of the main factors that need to be considered for two-way radio network implementation, especially for group call type of communication.

Antenna System
This is a device connected to the base station / repeater to propagate the Radio Frequency (RF) energy. Antenna system plays an important role to determine the efficiency of converting electrical energy into RF energy. Thus, determine the area of coverage. There are several antenna configurations to meet various condition and terrain. A typical antenna parameters are: Frequency Band: This is the range of the band that the antenna will operate in (i.e. 806-870 MHz). This only means that the antenna will operate within this band. It usually does not necessarily mean that the antenna will operate over the entire band. Bandwidth: The maximum frequency separation that this antenna will operate within the frequency band. Gain: Antenna gain is proportional to the product of directivity and the antennas efficiency. Directivity is a measure of how an antenna focuses energy. Antennas efficiency accounts for loss associated with antenna. Gain is achieved in an antenna by re-directing energy from some directions into the desired directions. The higher the gain of the antenna, the further the coverage obtained. However, a higher gain antenna typically means higher cost. Radiation Pattern: In Two-Way Radio, there are usually uni-directional antenna or omni-directional antenna. The names reflect the radiation pattern produced by each type of antenna. Maximum Input Power: Look for the specs with the maximum input power rating of the antenna is greater than the RF power output rating of the transmitter(s). VSWR (Voltage Standing Wave Ratio): A high VSWR (Voltage Standing Wave Ratio) implies a large amount of reflected power. This means that the amount of forward power is less. Therefore, the higher the VSWR, the less efficient the antenna.

Length: This refers to the physical length of the antenna. A long antenna is cumbersome to ship, store or install. Wind Loading: In windy areas, the load of the wind on the antenna must be taken into account.

Dispatcher or Console System

This is a network sub-system where an operator, commonly known as dispatcher, interface with the network to monitor users activities and communicate with users in the field. The dispatcher acts as the central focus of the most two-way radio system and usually has more powerful features to allow the dispatcher operator to effectively monitor and manage the users in the field. The dispatcher is usually located at organizations control center (also known as: Command and Control room or Monitor room). In traditional two-way radio system, console or dispatcher system has various buttons and LEDs to facilitate monitoring and managing various talk group. In a modern two-way radio system, these buttons and LEDs are replaced with Personal Computer equipped with specialized Digital Sound Processing (DSP) card and other specialized equipment to facilitate monitoring and managing users effectively. Many dispatcher and console system has a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for ease of use.

Network Management System

This is a network sub-system to monitor and manage all related components in the entire network. Depending on the products, Network Management System can vary in term of functionalities and performance. An industry standard for network management which follows the Open System Interconnection (OSI) reference model will have, at least, the following functional management known as FCAPS: Fault management Configuration management Accounting management Performance management, and Security management

In modern two-way radio system, the Network Management System uses computerized system, such as Personal Computer with specialized hardware and software to perform the function. The use of Personal Computer with Graphical User Interface (GUI) will make it easier for network manager to monitor and manage the network.

Area of Coverage
Area of coverage indicates the area where the radio terminals have usable signal (uplink and downlink) to use the radio network. The usable signal means an acceptable signal level that allows user to communicate. A term that is mostly used in area of coverage is coverage

reliability. A 95% coverage reliability means that there is 95% chance that user will have the acceptable signal level in particular area of coverage. The higher the number, the better the coverage but it usually comes with higher cost due to the need to build more base station or repeater sites.

Source: Google