Motorola Solutions and KPN Team Up for Mission Critical Push to Talk over Cellular Service

The mobile phone-based service works on the basis of smartphones and KPN's mobile 4G network and also offers control room solutions, voice recording and mobile device management. 

The KPN Kodiak solutions is a carrier-integrated broadband push-to-talk solution where KPN's LTE capacity is "released" and thus becomes a private LTE solution. Already in September this year, the Dutch Railways picked the solution after a successful test with fifty users in the city of Zwolle. 

With KPN Push-To-Talk, companies in sectors such as safety, transport, logistics and healthcare can work more efficiently with an even better overview of current situations. KPN provides push-to-talk with quality of service, priority and pre-emption for specific groups within the security sector. The service is an integral part of the mobile 4G KPN network, prepared for 5G and, according to the company, secure and safe, robust and reliable.

KPN has developed the service with a number of specific characteristics. The network from KPN is the basis for the service and offers national coverage. Push-to-talk is linked to the mobile network and forms an integral part of it. On request, the 4G network can be expanded with indoor coverage and special coverage. When there is congestion on the mobile network, the mission critical push-to-talk service offers priority and pre-emption. There is not only a communication solution for the user in the field, but also for the control room. The Push-to-talk service is delivered in combination with certified devices and tt supports all of the functionalities of a two way radio.. 

The PoC service was already announced in spring this year however the services is only now available. Why did it take so long before KPN came up with their answer to Priocom? According to 'Verbinding',  a dutch publication on critical communications, Eelco Nicodem, Strategist and Business Developer at KPN:

“We have chosen to communicate to the market based on user experiences and the value it has for customers. That takes a little more time. In addition, we wanted to be one hundred percent sure that the service met the KPN requirements. This has cost extra work and time for KPN and the supplier. We then tested even more to be sure. That needs time. "

Nicodem does not want to disclose the current number of customers fopr this PoC services. He said: “That is not yet relevant at the moment. If we can communicate about this, we will do that. "