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Please enjoy your
Spring 2022
State of the Industry
issue of MissionCritical Communications magazine.
SPRING 2022 SPECIAL EDITION: IWCE and UTC
RadioResource MCCmag.com
TM
C O M M U N I C A T I O N S
STATE
of the 2022
INDUSTRY
6 D E PA R T M E N T S
Dispatch
RadioResource Vol. 37, No. 1
TM
6 Dispatch
8 Top News
12 Industry Insights
C O M M U N I C A T I O N S 55 Product Spotlight
60 Advertiser Directory
SPRING 2022 61 MarketPlace
CONTENTS
18 24 30
Testing DMR Tier 3 PoC Market Expands 3 Key Ways P25
and Other Radios in as Use Cases, Standards Can Pro-
Trunking Mode Applications Grow tect Your System
Testing trunked radios can be tough, The market is now divided between The standard offers strong security
but these strategies can help. simple and more complex solutions. tools, but they must be implemented
By Wayne Black By Danny Ramey properly. By James Downes
The Evolution FirstNet at 10:
36
Communications
Industry Deals with
Supply Chain Issues
Supply chain issues have led to
40 of Private LTE
Spectrum in the CBRS and 900 MHz
44 Coverage, 5G and
Deployables
FirstNet celebrates its 10th birthday
increased costs, delays for vendors, bands is leading to new LTE use and continues its commitment to pub-
users. By Danny Ramey cases. By Scott Schoepel lic safety. By Edward Parkinson
49 51 53
Florida SLERS Sup- Cybersecurity Best Myths and
ports Responders Practices for Critical Misconceptions
During Disasters Infrastructure About TETRA
The statewide network provides As CII entities becomes key targets A look at where the TETRA standard
interoperability during disasters. for hackers, proper mitigation steps currently stands in North America.
By Steven Williams must be taken. By Danny Ramey By Jose Martin
4 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s i onCritical Communications www.MCCmag. c o m
RadioResource
DISPATCH TM
C O M M U N I C A T I O N S
RadioResource MissionCritical Communications delivers wire-
Together Again less voice and data solutions for mobile and remote mission-critical
operations. The magazine targets public safety, state/local/federal
government, transportation, field service, business and industrial
Since we gathered last fall at IWCE, much has
users; engineering and consulting firms; mobile communication
dealers/resellers; service providers and other industry professionals
changed in both our industry as well as the
in the United States and Canada. Editorial content includes business
world. This special Spring 2022 issue of Mission-
and regulatory news, in-depth features, product information and
comparisons, industry reports and trends, innovative applications,
Critical Communications takes a look at the over-
emerging technologies, case studies and technical tips.
all state of the industry by digging into a series
PUBLISHER/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
of critical topics. While COVID cases have
Paulla A. Nelson-Shira, pnelson-shira@RRMediaGroup.com
decreased greatly, critical communications
EDITOR
users continue to tackle a variety of challenges
Danny Ramey, dramey@RRMediaGroup.com
including disasters, supply chain issues and
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Gayle Marquez
cyber threats. EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Ron Beck: Network Engineer, Central Lincoln PUD
LMR continues to be the most critical tool for users around the Klaus Bender: Principal Engineer, RGBender Engineering
country, so we take a dive into developments across a variety of Mark Crosby: Chief Strategy Officer, EWA
protocols. First, we take a look at strategies for testing DMR
Joe Hanna: President, Directions
Dale Hatfield: Executive Director, Silicon Flatirons
radios in trunking mode. Then we explore P25 security features Carroll Hollingsworth: VP Domestic Sales, JPS Interoperability
and examines what organizations can do to take advantage of Neil Horden: Principal Consultant, Horden Technology
those standards. We also examine how Florida’s statewide P25 Douglas Jarrett: Attorney, Keller and Heckman
network helps first responders respond to hurricanes. Finally, we
John Johnson: Radio System Analyst, TEMA
Chris Kindelspire: Communications Director, Grundy County, Illinois
take a look at the TETRA standard in North America and the ben- Dr. Walt Magnussen Jr.: Texas A&M University
efits it can offer to organizations. Mike Miller: President, RACOM
Rick Nielson: President, Nielson Networks
Broadband is increasingly becoming an essential tool to critical
John Rayfield Jr.: President, Rayfield Communications
Joe Ross: Partner, Televate
and non-critical communications users around the world. In this Frederick Smith: Retired Infrastructure Architect
issue, we examine the growth of PoC and explore the diverging Marilyn Ward: Executive Director, NPSTC
use cases in the market. We also take a look at how reallocated
spectrum in the CBRS and 900 MHz is changing communications
The opinions of the editorial advisory board members are their own
and not those of their employers.
for a variety of sectors. And finally, FirstNet Authority CEO
Edward Parkinson celebrates the authority’s 10th anniversary.
VICE PRESIDENT SALES
Mark Shira, 303-792-2390 x101, mshira@RRMediaGroup.com
Finally, we take a look at two key issues impacting critical com-
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Debra Sabin, 303-792-2390 x103, dsabin@RRMediaGroup.com
munications of all kinds: cybersecurity and supply chain issues.
Cyber threats con-
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Melissa Richey, mrichey@RRMediaGroup.com
tinue to increase
and it’s important
Email your feedback to CORRESPONDENCE
RadioResource MissionCritical Communications
for organizations
Editorial and advertising correspondence should be addressed to:
dramey@RRMediaGroup.com.
to take mitigation
7108 S. Alton Way, Building H, Centennial, CO 80112
Editorial email: edit@RRMediaGroup.com
Tel: 303-792-2390 Fax: 303-792-2391.
steps. Meanwhile, supply chain issues caused by the pandemic, Advertising email: info@RRMediaGroup.com
Subscription email: subscription@RRMediaGroup.com
continue to impact the industry. Severe backups at ports, © 2022 By Pandata Corp. All Rights Reserved.
Printed in U.S.A.
increase in chip demand and employee issues have led to prod-
uct and material delays and increased costs for both vendors
and end users alike.
C O N TA C T U S
Thank you for your support over these many years. We are
proud to continue providing you with information to support
www.MCCmag.com
Editorial
your mission and look forward to bringing you the most up-to-
date information on critical communications.
edit@RRMediaGroup.com
Sales
Phone: 303-792-2390 ext. 109
info@RRMediaGroup.com
Subscriptions
Phone: 303-792-2390 ext. 101
Danny Ramey, Editor
dramey@RRMediaGroup.com
Subscribe online at www.MCCmag.com
Phone: 303-792-2390 ext. 111
subscription@RRMediaGroup.com
6 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s i o nCritical Communications
Get More News
TOP NEWS at MCCmag.com
TECHNOLOGY
3GPP Finalizes Items for Inclusion in Release 18
technical standards. as unlicensed and millimeter
The release is expected to be wave (mmWave) spectrum, as
worked on for 18 months from well as relays that can help
the start to its freeze date plus six improve 5G coverage in difficult
months to finish any work needed environments, he said.
to complete the release, he said. Another item in the release will
That timeline could change some look at artificial intelligence (AI)
if 3GPP has to continue conduct- and machine learning (ML) in net-
ing meetings online due to the works to use data-driven insights
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. to optimize system performance
Release 17, which was complet- in areas including energy savings,
During their December plenary ed in December, was originally load balancing and mobility.
meetings, members of the Third set to last only 15 months, but Other important items in the
Generation Partnership Project slipped an additional nine months release include evolved duplex-
(3GPP) finalized the items that because of the pandemic. ing, advanced downlink/uplink
will be included in Release 18 of Release 18 will also see more multiple input multiple output
the standards. work on 5G New Radio (NR) (MIMO), boundless extended
During the plenary, 3GPP sidelink, Montojo said. The new reality, satellite and drone use
members approved 28 items for work on the sidelink function will cases, and New Radio (NR)
inclusion in Release 18, said Juan look at expanding its use into new reduced capacity (RedCap).
Montojo, Qualcomm lead for spectrum types and bands, such
8 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s i onCritical Communications www.MCCmag. c o m
TOP NEWS
LMR Users Urge FCC to Change Rules Around
TV Protections in T-Band
Several NWCC said in its petition. Meanwhile, the NAB filed com-
communi- The NWCC noted that TV sta- ments urging the FCC to proceed
cations tions had been required to broad- cautiously with any changes to the
organiza- cast exclusively in digital format rules because of how it could
tions and T-band users came out in since 2009. impact TV stations.
support of a Land Mobile Commu- “Updating the rule as proposed “Indeed, given that land mobile
nications Council (LMCC), now would represent sound spectrum operations in the T-band could well
called the National Wireless Com- management policy,” the NWCC be the victims of interference more
munications Council (NWCC), peti- said. “It would maintain appropri- often than television stations, it is
tion to the FCC to make rule ate protection to full-power and unclear why LMCC believes it to be
changes to the T-band spectrum. low-power television stations from in its interest to seek the changes
The National Association of land mobile stations, but would it proposes,” the NAB said.
Broadcasters (NAB) meanwhile recognize, as do the revised Part “Accordingly, the NAB strongly
urged caution should the FCC 73 rules, that DTV stations have urges the commission to exercise
move forward with any changes to superior interference immunity.” caution in considering any changes
protections to the TV stations. The National Public Safety to the existing rules governing T-
“The proposed change reflects Telecommunications Council band operations, and to adopt any
the migration of television stations (NPSTC) said it fully supports the changes only following the devel-
from analog transmission on which NWCC’s proposal for rule changes opment of a fulsome technical
the rule currently is based to digi- to the band and noted the thor- record that confirms such changes
tal transmissions (DTV) pursuant to oughness of the proposed rule will not materially increase the like-
the so-called DTV transition,” the changes in the petition. lihood of harmful interference.”
w w w. M C C m a g . c o m MissionCritical Communications Spr ing 2022 9TOP NEWS
Appeals Court Denies Peti- for reconsideration. The court ANSI Approves New Version of
tions for Review of Unlicensed later combined all of those peti- NENA i3 NG 9-1-1 Standard
Use of 6 GHz tions into one petition. The American National Stan-
An appeals court rejected peti- “To demonstrate that a regula- dards Institute (ANSI) fully
tions for review from multiple tion is arbitrary and capricious, a approved the new version of the
organizations asking that the challenger must show that the National Emergency Number
FCC’s rules allowing unlicensed agency ‘relied on factors which Association’s (NENA) i3 next-gen-
use in the 6 GHz band be Congress has not intended it to eration 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1) standard.
remanded back to the FCC for consider, entirely failed to consid- The approval confirms that the i3
reconsideration. er an important aspect of the standard complies with all ANSI
In April 2020, the FCC adopted problem, offered an explanation essential requirements.
rules allowing for unlicensed use for its decision that runs counter Version 3 of NENA's i3 Stan-
of the 6 GHz band, leading to to the evidence before the dard for next-generation 9-1-1
backlash from public-safety and agency or is so implausible that it serves as the foundation for a
critical infrastructure groups who could not be ascribed to a differ- 21st-century, broadband-based 9-
argued that such use could lead ence in view or the product of 1-1 ecosystem and includes key
to harmful interference to key agency expertise,” the court’s updates to NG 9-1-1 infrastruc-
critical communications systems. order said. ture, paving the way for 9-1-1-sys-
In January 2021, multiple pub- The court ruled that the peti- tem interoperability on a national
lic-safety, industry and critical tioners had not demonstrated and international scale.
infrastructure groups filed peti- that the FCC’s rules fell into any
tions for review with the U.S. of those categories and deter- MCX Testing Project Reaches
Appeals Court for the District of mined that the FCC followed a Certification Milestone for
Columbia asking the court to sound process in implementing MCPTT Test Cases
remand the rules back to the FCC the rules. Funded by the U.S. National
10 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s ionCritical Communications www.MCCmag. c o mTOP NEWS Institute of Standards and Tech- and defined the test cases to the consumer mobile world and nology (NIST), the Mission Critical assess the mission critical-relat- typically require the evaluation of Services - Testing as a Service ed functionality. the underlying LTE network and (MCS-TaaSting) project Using the European Telecom- associated signaling. In order to announced that 60% of mission- munications Standards Institute’s adapt those requirements to the critical push-to-talk (MCPTT) con- (ETSI) TTCN-3 language ensures needs of mission critical opera- formance test cases have been the guidelines designed by 3GPP tors and users, the MCX IPCAN formally verified. and certification bodies are fol- model was defined, resulting in This is the trigger required by lowed. These compliance testing significant additional complexity certification organizations to acti- processes are widely adopted in in the tester. vate their mission-critical services (MCX) conformance certification programs to meet procurement requirements from mission-criti- cal operators and users. A comprehensive certification program helps to establish a sta- ble market for mission-critical services deployment and is essen- tial to ensure that critical broad- band devices and services con- form to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) stan- dards. Conformance testing is required to verify the correct operation of key interfaces between devices and between the device and the mobile network. Field trials are used to comple- ment laboratory testing and wit- ness the device and services behavior in live multivendor com- mercial networks. Test case verification is achieved using the 3GPP Radio Access Network (RAN) 5 working group’s defined MCX IP connec- tivity access network (IPCAN) model, the only accepted stan- dards-based process for full veri- fication of MCX test cases. 3GPP defined the MCPTT, mission-criti- cal data (MCData) and mission- critical video (MCVideo) services ecosystem, and both the industry and end-users have been calling for clear certification programs that use standardized confor- mance testing tools in order to accelerate trusted deployments. 3GPP’s RAN5 working group works on the specification of conformance testing at the radio interface for the user equipment w w w. M C C m a g . c o m MissionCritical Communications Spr ing 2022 11
Key Findings
2022 MCC Reader Survey By Paulla-Nelson Shira, Publisher
N
Nearly 600 readers participated in MissionCritical Communications’
2022 industry survey, with respondents from public safety, critical
industry, enterprise and the distribution sector.* The 2022 survey
results provide a window into what is taking place in our dynamic
industry today, as well as plans and concerns for the year ahead.
Survey respondent breakdown by
business or organization.
Public Safety/Gov. 42%
Critical Industry 4%
It’s no surprise that repercussions of the COVID pandemic hit the
Business/Industry 4%
industry hard. More than 71% of respondents experienced product
Dealers 15%
delays, and nearly 34% found that some of the products they
Reps/Distributors 4%
sought to purchase were no longer available. Due to supply chain
Wireless Providers 3%
issues, 38% had delays in their system upgrades. For an editorial
Professional Services 18%
dive into the impact of supply chain challenges in the industry,
Manufacturers/Software 10%
please see our story on page 36.
In line with the U.S. economy, 80% of dealers, reps and distributors
experienced product delays and 70% had cost increases. Unfortu-
nately, when supply doesn’t meet demand, prices go up. Supply
chain woes in the coming year are front and center in our readers’
minds. Their top three concerns for 2022 are delays in product/com-
50%
of mission-critical and critical industry users feel
ponent delivery, price increases, and finding qualified personnel.
broadband will never replace LMR.
Regarding communications budgets for 2022, 41% of public safety How did supply chain issues impact your
and critical industry users had an increase in their budget over last or your customers’ communications system
year – up 13% from 2021, while nearly 48% of their budgets stayed plans or business?
the same.
The following pages include graphs of survey results broken out
Increase in Product Cost 55%
by the public safety and critical industry sectors. You will find
insights into the top technologies they plan to invest in, what hard-
ware they intend to buy and software they have slated to pur-
Product Availability Delayed 71%
chase. You will also learn more about their views on direct mode,
LMR and broadband.
Some Products Not
Available 34%
Regarding technology, P25, DMR and broadband are the top
three technologies our readers plan to buy over the next five
System Upgrade
years. Push-to-talk tops the list of software they plan to purchase,
Delayed 38%
followed by cybersecurity and broadband/internet apps. Nearly
50% of mission critical and critical industry users feel broadband
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
LTE/5G will never replace LMR, and 78% of public safety and criti-
cal industry users consider direct mode operation to be very
Did your 2022 communications budget…
important for their systems.
We would like to extend a big thank you to the 592 survey respon-
dents. On your behalf, we made a donation to the American Red
Increase 36%
Cross Emergency fund. Your participation over the years has been
Stay the Same 50%
instrumental in our ability to provide timely and relevant informa- Decrease 14%
tion to help you navigate your jobs.
*The MCC reader survey was conducted from January 27 to February 18, 2022.
12 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s ionCritical Communications www.MCCmag. c o mINDUSTRY PUBLIC SAFETY
What technology do you plan to buy in the When will broadband LTE/5G networks replace
next 5 years? (Top 5) LMR networks?
80
70 Within 2 Years 8%
60 Within 5 Years 14%
50 Within 10 Years 17%
40
Within 20 Years 16%
30
Never 45%
P25 64%
20
NG 9-1-1
Analog
10
26%
21%
23%
23%
LTE
5G
0
What hardware do you plan to buy in the
next 5 years? (Top 12)
78%
said direct mode operation is very important to
their organization or their customers’ organizations.
Antennas 68%
Base Stations/Repeaters 64%
Dispatch (Consoles, etc) 51%
Interop. (Gateways, etc) 47% What is the priority for your (or your customers’)
9-1-1/NG 9-1-1 40% radio communications network/networks?
Power Supplies 47%
Radio Accessories (Headsets, Mics, etc) 78%
Digital Radio Systems Equip 53% Network/Equip Upgrade 44%
P25 Systems Equipment/Radios 66% Maintenance Only 22%
Radios 68%
Network Replacement 10%
Site/Tower Equipment 49%
Test Equipment 42% All of the Above 15%
None of the Above 9%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
What software do you plan to buy in the What broadband/data options do you use? (Top 5)
next 5 years? (Top 5) 80
Private data net. over 2-way 18%
Private broadband over unlicensed
70
Other commercial carrier 16%
spectrum (2.4 or 5 GHz) 12%
Cybersecurity 38% 60
9-1-1/NG 9-1-1 40% 50
FirstNet Built With AT&T
GIS Mapping 35% 40
Push To Talk 39% 30
FirstNet Apps 35% 20
Verizon
10
51%
61%
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 0
14 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s ionCritical Communications www.MCCmag. c o mINSIGHTS CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
What technology do you plan to buy in the When will broadband LTE/5G networks replace
next 5 years? (Top 5) LMR networks?
50
Within 2 years 15%
40 Within 5 years 8%
Within 10 years 0%
30
Within 20 years 23%
20
Never 54%
DMR 50%
LTE 29%
10
Analog
NXDN
14%
14%
21%
P25
0
What hardware do you plan to buy in the
next 5 years? (Top 12)
Antennas 53%
77%
said direct mode operation is very important to
their organization or their customers’ organizations.
Base Stations/Repeaters 60%
Broadband Devices 47%
Dispatch Equip. (Consoles, etc.) 60%
Power Supplies 67%
What is the priority for your (or your customers’)
Radio Accessories (Headsets, Mics, etc.) 80% radio communications network/networks?
Digital Radio Systems Equipment 80%
Radios 73% Network/Equip. Upgrade 57%
Remote Site Monitoring 47%
Site/Tower Equipment 67% Maintenance Only 25%
Telemetry/SCADA 47% Network Replacement 7%
Test Equipment 73%
All of the Above 11%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 None of the Above 0%
What software do you plan to buy in the What broadband/data options do you use? (Top 4)
next 5 years? (Top 5) 50
Cybersecurity 18% 40
Interference Finding 18%
30
Unlicensed Spectrum 50%
LMR Integration 27%
Private Network Over
Private Network Over
Sprint, T-Mobile, ATT
Other Carriers 25%
20
2-way Radio 42%
Push To Talk 27%
Satellite Network
Verizon 33%
Wireless Internet Apps 18%
10
25%
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
0
w w w. M C C m a g . c o m MissionCritical Communications Spr ing 2022 15IND U S T RY I N S I G H T S
DEALERS • REPRESENTATIVES • DISTRIBUTORS
When will broadband LTE/5G networks replace
LMR networks?
Within 2 years 8%
Within 5 years 16%
Within 10 years 22%
Within 20 years 11%
57%
said direct mode operation is very important to
their organization or their customers’ organizations.
Never 43%
During the past year, how did supply chain issues
impact your or your customers’ communications
system plans or business?
80%
said supply chain issues impacted plans for their
communications system or business during 2021. 0
Increase in Product Cost 70%
Product Availability Was Delayed 80%
Some Products Not Available 51%
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
MANUFACTURERS
When will broadband LTE/5G networks replace
LMR networks?
Within 2 years 6%
Within 5 years 28%
Within 10 years 13%
Within 20 years 16%
71%
said direct mode operation is very important to
their organization or their customers’ organizations.
Never 37%
During the past year, how did supply chain issues
impact your (or your customers’) communications
system plans or business?
85%
said supply chain issues impacted plans for their
communications system or business during 2021. 0
Increase in Product Cost 68%
Product Availability Was Delayed 85%
Some Prod. Not Avail. 44%
20 40 60 80 100
16 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s ionCritical Communications www.MCCmag. c o mTesting DMR Tier 3
and Other Trunked Radios in Trunking Mode
Testing a trunked system or
network can be difficult, but doing
so provides several benefits.
By Wayne Black
Photo courtesy Tait Communications
O
Over the last two years, respons-
es to the COVID-19 virus have
created worldwide disruption in
every area of human activity.
Now, as the world moves forward
Narrowband
communications
are used in pri-
vate digital net-
works to provide
in recovering from the crippling purpose-built
effects of family life disruption functionality to
(or devastation), economic organizations
upheaval, and business and sup- such as public
ply chain interruption, it has safety, public
become clear that the need for transportation,
reliable private and public com- utilities and
munications is greater than ever. industrial pro-
The industry is experiencing an duction. These
uptick in both utilization of organizations
broadband and narrowband and others like
communications and customer them have Figure 1
demand for better security and unique communications require- bility under severe situations
more functional features. ments for functionality and relia- within a defined coverage area
18 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s ionCritical Communications www.MCCmag. c o mwhile maintaining defined quality The major digital trunking stan-
requirements. The networks dards based on global implemen-
must provide service availability tation and market penetration
and capacity to meet these are TETRA, Project 25 (P25) trunk-
requirements under all circum- ing, and Digital Mobile Radio
stances. Complete device testing (DMR) Tier 3, all of which are
and validation is a pivotal part of public standards created and
meeting the service availability published either in Europe or
goals for any digital network. North America. These three tech-
nologies are utilized in private
digital networks to support the Figure 3
purpose-built requirements of
Figure 2
To fully meet the user require-
Testing Trunking Mode
ments, private digital networks
are operated in “trunking” mode,
a mode in which base station
equipment constantly transmits a
control channel and each user
device must register to the net-
work before operation. While the
user device (portable or mobile)
is configured for network (or
trunking) mode, it will not oper-
ate or transmit without a control
channel present. This makes
bench testing a network or trunk-
ed device difficult, especially if
the service shop is outside the
network. Often the service shop
must reprogram or switch the
device to direct mode operation
or a test only mode to verify
hardware functionality. This test-
ing approach does properly test
the physical transmit (TX) and
receive (RX) characteristics of the
radio but does not allow the serv-
ice shop to verify any of the
device functionality that only
operates while in network or
trunking mode. So, how much
functionality could be missed if
the device is not tested in trunk-
ing mode? Let’s look closer at
that question.
w w w. M C C m a g . c o m MissionCritical Communications Spr ing 2022 19devices must operate in trunking It is possible to perform limited
mode, which as stated earlier, setup verification of mobile and
requires the presence of a corre- portable devices on a live net-
sponding control channel to work, but even if the service shop
allow each user device to register is within network range, the
to the network. maintenance team may be limited
Table 1: Voice Call Types
Group Call Selection to provide voice from one to many members
of a group or team. Group size can be small or large.
Figure 4
the organizations previously list- Individual Call Selection to provide voice between two parties. Parties
may be mobile stations, dispatchers in control centers
ed. Networks can be built to or telephone extensions.
include single or multiple sites
with small or very large numbers
Dispatch Allows control center management and coordination of
of users. Even though the priority Mode the mobile user community.
of specific functional require-
ments will differ between organi- Push to Talk Immediate voice communications. The speaker pushes
zations, all digital standards offer (PTT) a button on the radio and transmits a voice message
some common capabilities. The addressing a particular individual or a talkgroup. On
most important common func- release, radio returns to listen mode
tional requirements are listed in
the following tables. Emergency An alarm button that when pushed indicates the user is
Alert/Call in an emergency and requires immediate access to the
In most cases, to utilize the fea- communications system.
tures listed in the tables, the user
20 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s ionCritical Communications www.MCCmag. c o min the access they are allowed to verify or limit-
ed as to which features they can exercise.
The good news is modern software-defined
digital communications test equipment is
designed to support testing trunked radio
Table 2: Voice Call Features
Fast Call The call setup must be com-
Setup pleted in a specified time,
often less than half a second.
Late Entry This function allows mobile
users who were out of reach
or unavailable during initial
call setup to join a group call.
Direct or Talk This mode of communica-
Around tions provides mobile users
with the ability to communi-
cate unit-to-unit when out of
range of a wireless network.
Known in TETRA as direct
mode operation (DMO).
Full Duplex A simultaneous two-way
Communica- transmission in both direc-
tion tions, i.e. both parties may
talk at the same time. This is
the preferred use for com-
munication of mobile users
with private automatic
branch exchange (PABX)
extensions and interconnec-
tions to the public switched
telephone network (PSTN).
Talker This provides the ability for a
Identification user to identify who is speak-
ing at any given time, such as
showing who has pushed the
push-to-talk (PTT) button,
and could be equated to
caller ID available on most
commercial cellular systems
today.
Audio Quality This is a vital ingredient for
mission-critical voice. Voice
normally must be under-
stood without repetition
(speech intelligibility) and the
talker should be identified by
the listener.
Encryption Encryption serves to secure
information against eaves-
dropping and unauthorized
talkers, thus safeguarding
the privacy of voice commu-
nication.
w w w. M C C m a g . c o m MissionCritical Communications Spr ing 2022 21Table 3: Data Communications radio physical layer transmission
and is now ready to run several
Status Code Status codes are pre-coded text messages that replace tests. Transmit testing, receive sen-
Messages routine voice messages (e.g., "arrived at scene"). sitivity testing, power loop control
testing and bit error rate (BER) T1
Short Data These are messages of arbitrary content, usually not
Messages longer than 100 characters. testing are available if supported
by the radio under test. The techni-
GPS Location Devices with built-in GPS receivers will periodically cian can also execute the following
broadcast location and status of mobile users in the call types: individual duplex, indi-
field. Also known as automatic vehicle location (AVL). vidual simplex, group, phone,
emergency, SDS/DTMF/DGNA, and
Database Examples of queries are retrieving information about ambient Listening.
Queries license plate numbers and hazardous materials trans-
portation. When testing is completed, a
report becomes available to
devices in active trunking mode. Figures 2 and 3 display informa- the technician.
The test equipment can emulate tion from a live test of a TETRA
the control channel of standards- portable in TMO operation. Finally, Figure 4 demonstrates a
based trunking technologies such P25 portable operating in explicit
as DMR Tier 3, TETRA or P25 Figure 2 shows that the radio has mode trunking.
trunking. Obviously, each tech- registered and is in sync with the
nology is different and not inter- test equipment. In conclusion, private digital net-
operable with the others, so the works for mission-critical com-
Complete device
test equipment will have a sepa- munications are purpose-built to
rate test mode for each technolo- deal with severe situations within
gy. In addition, for the test mode testing and validation a given service area under
to operate with all devices in the defined quality properties. Spe-
market, only features defined in is a pivotal part of cial emphasis regarding their
meeting the service
the standard for that technology functionality is on group commu-
are supported and not propri- nication and fast call setup with
etary add-ons provided by indi- availability goals for PTT service. Emergency alerts are
vidual radio manufacturers. calls of high priority and instanta-
any digital network. neous access to the communica-
Figure 1 is an example of a DMR tion network. Customer utiliza-
Tier III portable operating in tion of these standard-based fea-
trunking mode with the test In the registration process, the test tures are the reason why the net-
equipment. equipment has already verified the work is built in the first place.
Therefore, it is reasonable that
the features customers use
Table 4: Miscellaneous Communication Functions should be tested and verified as
part of device deployment or
Dynamic One or more talkgroup numbers may be assigned
Group Number dynamically to a mobile station. maintenance. n
Assignment
(DGNA)
Wayne Black is the chief technical offi-
Functional Dial Dynamic assignment of a functional dial number to a cer (CTO) for Freedom Communica-
Numbers physical address of a mobile radio. May address a bus, tion Technologies, an Astronics Test
a train or a functional team at an airport, to name a
Systems company. He previously
few. When used to address a person, it results in call-
ing this individual independent from using a certain served as technical director and engi-
mobile radio. neering manager for General Dynam-
ics and as an engineer on the NASA
Talkgroup A mobile station may request the site under which it is space shuttle program.
Subscription/ working to be subscribed or attached to a particular
Attachment group of interest.
22 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s ionCritical Communications www.MCCmag. c o mPoC
Market
Expands
as Use Cases,
Applications
Grow
There has been a
divide in the market as
some users look for a
simplified dedicated
PTT device, while oth-
ers look for a more fully
featured device.
By Danny Ramey
A
As more and more industries and
organizations adopt push-to-talk
(PTT) over cellular (PoC) technolo-
gies, the market is seeing a wide
variety of use cases and needs that
are pushing innovations.
“There’s going to be a spectrum of
users and there’s going to be a spec-
trum of devices,” said ESChat
CEO/President Josh Lober.
Lober said that spectrum ranges
from users who want a simplified
device focused specifically on PTT
communications to users who need a
device with PTT as well as specific
extended capabilities.
24 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s ionCritical Communications www.MCCmag. c o m“You have users who need a “There’s going to be a “It’s diversified, so I think this
device that looks like a radio, feels
spectrum of users, and type of PoC has slowly taken over
there’s going to be a
like a radio and works like a radio a lot of that typical two-way radio
but need capabilities such as RFID rental market,” he said.
or a specific application, as well,” spectrum of devices”
said Mike Ippolito, general man- Kirisun’s solution uses PoC radios
ager for A Beep, which provides — ESChat CEO/President running SIM cards and runs
PoC services through its Josh Lober through a web-based server to
DigaTalk+ service. provide communications. The
nature of the system proves use-
Through both its radio PTT and which to address the issue. ful to dealers because it does not
PoC services, A Beep serves a have some of the same issues
variety of verticals including “These are all things that with with traditional radio infrastruc-
school buses, security companies, two-way radio become incredibly ture, Chajin said.
public safety and others. The PoC difficult to solve without a lot of
service appeals to many of those money,” Ippolito said. Because the PoC runs through
users who in the past used the the web and not over traditional
radio PTT service, Ippolito said. Similarly, Carlos Chajin, vice presi- infrastructure, it reduces the need
“All those fleets that fit in the dent of Kirisun Americas, said PoC for technicians to service towers
standard LMR space fit in this services have begun changing the and lowers the cost of maintain-
space as well.” radio rental market. He said that ing the service because that phys-
Kirisun’s PoC solution is being ical infrastructure is not there.
Many of these users come seek- used in a variety of applications
ing solutions to communications including small-to-midsize public- As with some of the other servic-
problems such as range or in- safety agencies, national parks, es, the devices used on Kirisun’s
building coverage but do not hospitals and private ambulance solution operate on a cellular SIM
always have large budgets with companies. card but that card is placed in a
w w w. M C C m a g . c o m MissionCritical Communications Spr ing 2022 25and services as PTT 2.0. For Orion,
this new brand of PTT covers a
variety of innovations as well as
endless system integrations.
One key innovation that Orion
has championed is artificial intelli-
gence (AI) and its ability to auto-
mate certain services within the
Photo courtesy Orion Labs
PTT space. Orion’s PTT service
offers voice bots that allow users
to automate specific parts of the
app to fit their unique needs.
The voice bots can be pro-
grammed to respond to certain
Some agencies are adopting web-based PTT apps to help management and office workers commands, information or meta-
data and then perform certain
better communicate with field workers.
commands. For example, an
body that is similar to a radio, as connection points.” organization can automate a rou-
many of the users of the service tine radio check. Normally, when
are still looking for the advan- For example, Orion introduced a an employee performs a radio
tages of such a form factor, Cha- web-based PTT solution that is check, someone such as a dis-
jin said. “We maintain the intended to help extend the PTT patcher, has to respond. But with
ergonomics and look of a radio operations from the frontline to AI, a voice bot can hear that call
but inside is a cellular data the operations system or office. for a radio check and return a
modem to our platform with our This extension of PTT services has response to that user, so they
developed software.” also helped organizations adapt know the radio is working. This
to employees working from home then frees up dispatchers to per-
Orion Labs CEO Greg Taylor said due to the COVID-19 pandemic form other tasks. In another
that the company doesn’t view while still staying connected. example, a word or code could be
the push-to-talk market as just used to trigger an emergency
over cellular anymore. “A phone is not the response to help an employee
right description for
in need.
“We are the service at the point of
work and the point of work is this thing. The best way “We really do think PTT 2.0 is in
never just cellular these days,” certain ways crossing a chasm
Taylor said, noting that frontline to describe this would that a lot of vendors will struggle
be an LTE walkie talkie”
workers in a variety of vertical with and that chasm is how do
markets, including public safety, you make these enterprises
— Jason DePue,
critical infrastructure and busi- more productive,” said Orion
ness, perform their duties in a Labs Chief Marketing Officer
variety of environments including Vice President of Sales Michael Schwartz.
in buildings, underground, in for Siyata Mobile
highly secure facilities or out in While some users on the PoC
the wilderness. Because of all of “We think it’s important because it spectrum are looking for more
these connection points, it is frees up the ability for people with advanced features, other users
essential that PTT apps integrate browser-based devices to be are looking for a device specifical-
into a variety of different systems involved in the dispatch process,” ly dedicated to PoC with few
and applications, such as satel- Taylor said. “We’re serving front- other features. These so-called
lites and systems specific to par- line teams but part of that is their internet of things (IoT) devices
ticular industries. supervisors and operations team.” provide PTT applications with
small screens and few other data
“It’s really much more than over Taylor said that Orion considers features for organizations that
cellular,” Taylor said. “The way this brand of PTT that extends want an extremely simplified PoC
teams work, they cross various over a larger variety of devices experience.
26 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s ionCritical Communications www.MCCmag. c o m“A phone is not the right descrip- programming can then be hand- One example of a potential non-
tion for this thing,” said Jason ed out to volunteers or other PTT feature would be near field
DePue, vice president of sales for agencies and allow them to communications (NFC), which a
Siyata Mobile, which has devel- instantly communicate over PTT. security company, as well as oth-
oped the SD7 IoT device. “The ers, could utilize to have users
“It’s diversified, so
best way to describe this would check in at different locations by
be an LTE walkie talkie.” tapping the device on a node, but
I think this type of PoC that feature is still being explored.
has slowly taken over
The SD7, for example, carries a
display that is less than an inch “Because of the form factor, we
and allows two lines of text. The a lot of that typical don’t want to overpromise and
two-way radio rental
key focus of the device is on PTT. underdeliver on the apps,” DePue
There is no application store for said. “The real focus on this
the device but applications are market” device is push to talk over
— Carlos Chajin,
provisioned using a mobile device cellular.”
management system.
Vice President, One key element of the market
Lober and DePue said that the Kirisun Americas that is helping drive applications
nature of the IoT devices don’t is the number of accessories that
require as robust a data plan as a “You see this all the time where are available to pair with PTT
traditional broadband device, an agency has a cache of hun- applications now, Lober said. “In
allowing users to select cheaper dreds of Android phones prepped a lot of cases, accessories make
IoT data plans to pair with the with ESChat but a third of the or break the mission.”
device. “It’s a simplified device on people you hand it to are going to
a simplified rate plan,” DePue said. look at it and say, ‘I don’t know For example, a device paired with
how to use this because I use the right speaker microphone or
Lober noted that the IoT devices iOS,’ ” Lober said, noting that the headset can prove useful for a
are not intended to replace a simplified devices are easier to law enforcement officer who is
radio in an organization’s com- teach to new users. undercover and needs to main-
munications system, but instead tain PTT communications while
to serve a very specific purpose Siyata has looked at the potential remaining discreet or for a work-
those organizations need for sim- of adding applications other than er in a high-noise environment
plified PTT communications. For PTT to its IoT device but DePue that still needs to communicate.
example, the devices can prove said the company is carefully
useful as part of a cache of spare deliberating any application The many types and applications
devices that agencies maintain in expansions because the IoT of PoC communications will only
the event of a disaster. These sim- devices are so focused on PTT. continue to grow as the technolo-
plified devices, which require little gy evolves. That continued growth
will continue to drive new innova-
tions in the market and lead to
more use cases and users. n
Danny Ramey is the editor of
MissionCritical Communications
magazine. Contact him at
dramey@rrmediagroup.com.
Photo courtesy Orion Labs
28 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s ionCritical Communications www.MCCmag. c o m3 Key Ways P25 Standards
Can Protect Your System
The P25 standard offers strong security features, but agencies must
know how to properly procure and implement them. By James Downes
M
Malware, data breaches, phishing
and ransomware attacks are all too
familiar. For every digital system
there are scores of bad actors
working to hack it and victimize
The Project 25 (P25) standards
offer several tools to help ensure
LMR system security. However,
many users are unaware of them,
have trouble implementing them
munity resolves the root causes of
these issues.
Consider three P25 advanced fea-
tures designed to enhance network
the system’s users. Public-safety or find they may compromise security: Advanced Encryption
communications are no exception. interoperability among agencies Standard (AES), link layer encryp-
The public safety grapevine is and mutual aid partners. Similar tion (LLE), and authentication.
replete with tales of hacked LMR problems have arisen throughout
systems, pirated subscriber units, P25’s 30-year history whenever Advanced Encryption
intercepted confidential transmis- manufacturers introduce new fea- Standard
sions and stolen encryption keys. tures and functions. When it AES is the gold standard of
During recent incidents of social comes to network security educa- encryption, certified by the
unrest, law enforcement agencies tion and implementation, interop- National Institute of Standards
found their communications com- erability issues pose a threat to the and Technology (NIST) for all fed-
promised and rioters able to avoid lives and safety of public-safety eral agencies and widely adopted
officers trying to quell the violence. personnel and the communities by private financial and commer-
they serve. It is time the P25 com- cial entities.
30 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s ionCritical Communications www.MCCmag. c o mTo maintain top-level security and ment facilities (KMF). A KMF is a commercially available key tech-
ensure LMR interoperability with platform that enables agencies to nologies, making it an affordable,
federal partners and state, local, generate and distribute encryption straightforward solution to key
tribal and territorial (SLTT) public keys to other authorized agencies. security. By adopting this stan-
safety personnel, LMR systems The KMF can also receive and dis- dard, manufacturers can minimize
must also use AES. Yet, many in tribute encryption keys from other incompatibility issues, and by
the public-safety community con- organizations. The P25 KMF-KMF becoming aware of the interface,
tinue to use and request from Interface, sometimes referred to end users can specify it with their
manufacturers the outdated Data as the IKI, provides standard pro- encryption interoperability require-
Encryption Standard (DES) and cedures for key exchanges using ments when purchasing KMFs.
other inferior proprietary encryp- protected wireless or wireline
tion algorithms. Why? To avoid the interfaces. Unfortunately, to date, Link Layer Encryption
associated costs of transitioning to not all manufacturers have imple- Link layer encryption (LLE), some-
AES and maintaining backward mented this capability, and their times called link encryption, is a
compatibility with their partners KMFs often cannot interoperate. security tool whose time has come.
who continue to use DES. This prevents agencies with KMFs While end-to-end encryption using
from different manufacturers from AES encrypts only the information
Notwithstanding the legitimacy of sharing keys with surrounding contained in a transmission, LLE
users’ reasons, reliable encryption jurisdictions and mutual aid part- also encrypts routing information
is a network security issue, and ners, potentially crippling interop- for critical systems-level pathways,
universal adoption of AES is erability among encrypted radios such as control channel traffic in a
essential to minimize cyber and systems. trunked system. This additional
breaches that compromise infor- protection effectively secures the
mation and operations. The P25 KMF to KMF Interface sup- encryption, protects sender and
ports secure exchange of encryp- receiver identities, and prevents
Encryption faces another interop- tion keys among KMFs from differ- messages from being intercepted,
erability issue independent of the ent manufacturers. The IKI manipulated or resent by an
algorithm used: incompatible and employs standards-based crypto- untrusted source.
non-interoperable key manage- graphic techniques and leverages
32 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s ionCritical Communications www.MCCmag. c o mThe P25 standard for LLE has tion, in which the subscriber con- because they mistakenly believe
been a work in progress for years tacts the system controller/core affiliation and encryption are suffi-
and is still awaiting action from and is automatically connected to cient. Implementing authentica-
both manufacturers and users in authorized services and talk- tion is costly and can be resource
the APIC Encryption Task Group groups. It is a separate security intensive to manage. And so far,
and the Telecommunications protocol that reduces risk from authentication cannot be imple-
Industry Association (TIA) TR-8 pirated system keys, programming mented effectively across dis-
committee. Manufacturers need software and spoofed identities. It parate manufacturers’ systems
to accelerate the process to com- enhances protection from lost or and even within the same manu-
plete the standard. Manufacturers stolen radios and can automatical- facturer’s systems when linked by
state that products for this stan- ly detect duplicated valid radio IDs. the P25 Inter-RF Subsystem Inter-
dard are not a priority because face (ISSI). Consequently, non-
few users are asking for LLE. How- Each subscriber unit is assigned a home or foreign units often cannot
ever, users are unaware it exists unique user ID, and the system be authenticated, even if authenti-
and what benefits it provides. The automatically verifies the informa- cation is active and available on
P25 Steering Committee must tion against a database of valid the subscriber’s home system.
focus on educating users about subscriber identification. The P25 This occurs because each manu-
LLE and its benefits. Link Layer Authentication Stan- facturer interprets the P25 authen-
dard defines a challenge/ tication standard differently and
Authentication response system that allows both develop their authentication proto-
Authentication is a technology for the system and the subscriber to cols without sufficient coordination
ensuring that only authorized sub- authenticate themselves before of user needs and other manufac-
scriber radios obtain services on a services are granted. turers’ implementations.
trunked system. It is akin to the
two-factor authorization many of While authentication has been in Roots of the Problem
us use to protect our credit card the P25 standards for years, agen- AES, LLE, and authentication are
and bank account transactions. cies either do not realize its avail- potentially robust interoperable
Authentication differs from affilia- ability or think it unnecessary security measures. The P25 stan-
w w w. M C C m a g . c o m MissionCritical Communications Spr ing 2022 33dards contain the definitions and tions, lack of interoperability is a tion. This begins with the P25
information for AES and authenti- life safety issue. In short, specificity Steering Committee. The commit-
cation, and LLE specifications can and latitude are out of balance. tee continues education and out-
be accelerated and moved for- reach programs to help end users
ward. Manufacturers are making The onus is not all on the stan- better understand the P25 stan-
good faith efforts to provide com- dards development organizations dards: what they are and are not,
pliant and compatible product and manufacturers. Procuring and how to apply them when mak-
offerings. So, what’s the problem? agencies often rely too heavily on ing equipment and services pur-
the P25 standards to describe their chases. This effort needs to be bol-
P25 standards, especially for requirements to vendors. In pro- stered and better advertised.
advanced system features, are curement contracts, many agen- Readers can find essential P25
often broadly written to afford cies simply state they want a radio resources at cisa.gov/publication/
manufacturers flexibility for system to meet “P25 standard p25, project25.org/ and
designing and implementing P25 Z5R,” not realizing that one manu- project25.org/images/stories/ptig/
features in ways that conform with facturer might interpret “Z5R” dif- TR8_2021_summary_6.08.21.pdf.
their product offerings, product ferently from another. Just stating
road maps, and manufacturing that a procured system must com- Procuring agencies must commu-
goals. Unfortunately, this wide lati- ply with P25 standards does not nicate more effectively and specif-
tude also allows manufacturers to guarantee a truly interoperable ically with prospective vendors,
take a slightly different path with- and functional communications using the P25 standards only as a
out knowing what paths other environment. baseline. Procurements, contracts
manufacturers are following. The and systems acceptance docu-
result? Users purchasing equip- Recommended Solutions ments must specify the agency’s
ment from different manufactur- Ironically, the solution to these operational requirements, capa-
ers end up with products whose problems with communications bilities and levels of functionality
advanced features are not always network security is better commu- and interoperability expected.
interoperable, and in critical situa- nication and increased collabora- Manufacturers do not see public-
34 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s ionCritical Communications www.MCCmag. c o msafety requirements as public-safety practitioners do. To get the equipment and the P25 features and func- tion needed, practitioners must continually educate vendors. Building a cooperative relationship benefits both parties. While manufacturers will always strive to differentiate their products from one another, the days of any man- ufacturer dominating the public-safety communica- tions marketplace are over. Agencies want competition, purchasing options and all purchased equipment to be fully functional and interoperable. Manufacturers must find ways to resolve their different approaches to implementing P25 standards and ensure their advanced features and functions are truly interopera- ble. Public-safety agencies are a unique class of cus- tomers with requirements that impact the safety and security of the communities they serve. Like their cus- tomers, vendors must always keep life safety in mind. Some have suggested a joint P25/TIA effort to address these disparities, tightening standards specifications and enabling users and manufacturers to better under- stand each other’s perspectives. Others have proposed “advanced features tiger teams” bringing users and manufacturers together during the standards develop- ment phase. Others are campaigning for the develop- ment of public application programming interfaces (API) — the intermediary software tools that enable applications on the internet to talk to each other — for interoperability of advanced features. These efforts could better enable manufacturers to ensure their products’ interoperability with those of other vendors and avoid the cost and effort of repeatedly “fixing” interoperability problems. P25 has facilitated LMR interoperability for more than three decades and continues to be the backbone of critical voice communications for public safety. The time has come to find permanent solutions to issues that hobble the further evolution and implementation of P25 and affect the ability of public-safety agencies to safely and effectively fulfill their missions. For more information on P25 standards related to net- work security, visit cisa.gov/sites/default/files/ publica- tions/21_0609_p25_the-spun_508c.pdf and cisa.gov/safecom/technology. n James Downes is federal – international emergency com- munications branch chief for the Cybersecurity and Infra- structure Security Agency (CISA) and the chair of the Proj- ect 25 (P25) Steering Committee. w w w. M C C m a g . c o m MissionCritical Communications Spr ing 2022 35
Communications Supply
Industry Deals with
Supply chain issues have led to
Chain
increased costs, delays for vendors
and users. By Danny Ramey Issues
Photo courtesy Jason Goh
O
One of the most vexing conse-
quences COVID-19 pandemic has
been constant disruptions to the
supply chain. These disruptions
have impacted nearly every
product cost because of supply
chain issues.
Vendors small and large across
the critical communications
president and chief technologist
at Pryme Radio Products, a manu-
facturer of radio accessories.
“The whole thing about this sup-
ply chain is it’s kind of like a
industry across the economy and industry have run into a variety of Rubik’s cube. It’s interdependent
have not left the critical commu- supply chain issues as they seek on everything else.”
nications industry unscathed. to meet customer demand for
their products. One of the biggest issues that
In a poll recently conducted by Pryme has run into is shipments
MissionCritical Communications, “I’ve been doing this a long time sitting in ports and shipping
71% of readers said they had now, and just when you think yards for weeks or even months
experienced product delays and you’ve seen it all, something new before being unloaded. Contain-
55% of readers saw an increase in comes up,” said Dave George, ers in ports across the U.S. have
36 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 M i s s ionCritical Communications www.MCCmag. c o mYou can also read
