Airbus Defence and Space paves the way for the next generation of Professional Mobile Radio technology in Europe

Airbus Defence and Space has set up an R&D consortium with French telecommunication companies and universities to develop a mission critical broadband solution for public safety organisations, such as police and rescue services. The project, called LTE4PMR (Long Term Evolution for Professional Mobile Radio), will be an accelerator in the standardisation, development and implementation of the specific products and features required to meet the demanding needs for secure communication in the public safety sector. This project is partly funded by the French authorities, through the French Banque Publique d’Investissement (BPI) and the French Programmes d’Investissement d’Avenir.

Substantial amount of resources will be invested over a period of 27 months. Thus, the LTE4PMR project will boost the French ecosystem for mission critical communications creating an LTE solution in line with the global initiative Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), setting the standard for mission critical broadband communications. The first pilot system of the LTE4PMR project is intended to be demonstrated to the French authorities in autumn 2016.

“Airbus Defence and Space has gathered outstanding competencies and experience in the field of mission critical networks for many years. We were the first in the professional radio market when we established the first digital radio network in France more than 20 years ago,” says Olivier Koczan, Head of Secure Land Communications at Airbus Defence and Space. “The LTE4PMR project, together with other on-going advanced initiatives in other countries, is the right step towards developing an LTE solution for mission critical broadband communications to maintain our leadership in the market.”

The LTE4PMR solution will offer typical PMR features, such as Mission Critical Push-To-Talk (MCPTT), complex data (MCData) and video (MCVideo) transmissions. The project will also create the technology bricks, i.e., the base station, the core network and the terminal chipset enabling the deployment of mobile broadband secure communication networks in various frequency bands.

“Inspired by imagination, our engineers work on sophisticated solutions for future LTE/PMR network communication,” says Eric Davalo, Head of Strategy, Solution Portfolio and Engineering of Secure Land Communications at Airbus Defence and Space. “Given the fact that we master our customers’ wishes regarding their large-scale infrastructure, we are able to invent a smart evolution towards mission critical mobile broadband communications.”