Norway´s nationwide public safety network to expand connectivity between LTE and TETRA

Motorola Solutions’ innovative WAVE technology extends the reach of land mobile radio (LMR) and offers radio-like “push-to-talk” (PTT), making it possible for teams of people, in the field or in the office, to effectively communicate and collaborate through voice and data regardless of network, carrier or device, whether deployed on-site or delivered as a service.

DNK has signed a contract with Motorola Solutions for 1,000 licenses and has begun testing the technology, which can be accessed by authorized users with internet connectivity anywhere in the world. The pilot project in Norway will run for selected user groups through 2015 to evaluate use case, features, quality and security.

“Deploying WAVE enables us to take the first steps towards public safety Long-Term Evolution (LTE) integration, extending the voice and data services for efficient collaboration via Nødnett.” said Tor Helge Lyngstøl, Director General DNK. “We are particularly focused on secure transmission of mission-critical voice and data, and security will be a special focus during our pilot testing.”

The Norwegian TETRA system which delivers instant, resilient and secure public safety grade communications will remain the primary system for the mission critical users. WAVE’s smartphone and computer interoperability over LTE is planned as an additional service. Nødnett is being deployed across Norway by Motorola Solutions with planned completion by the end of 2015. The number of public safety and rescue professionals added to the nationwide TETRA network is growing rapidly, and the system already handles over one million calls per month.

“WAVE is a comprehensive communication solution that will help extend the reach of the Nodnett network beyond the current radio system, enabling connectivity to both broadband networks and other radio systems,” said Manuel Torres, senior vice president and general manager for Europe, Africa and Latin America, Motorola Solutions “This will increase the number of options for those users, such as support operations personnel and managers, who require interoperability but do not use a radio as their primary communications device.”

SUPPORTING FACTS

• WAVE connects disparate land mobile radio systems and removes barriers to interoperability and mutual aide, enabling better collaboration across public safety agencies using different systems, including analogue, digital, conventional and trunked.
• WAVE extends communications beyond radio to include smartphones, connected- tablet devices and broadband carrier networks ensuring greater workforce connectivity and interoperability with seamless collaboration from any location.
• WAVE replaces carrier PTT by providing secure, over-the-top PTT applications over public or private broadband networks. This provides customers with greater device, network and use-case flexibility. Non-radio users gain access to mission-critical communications from a greater choice of devices that reflect the needs of their regular operational role.
• The user interface for a WAVE communications system is provided by a series of client applications called WAVE Communicators. WAVE Communicators are available for Android and iOS devices, PCs and as plug-ins for Microsoft Lync and Microsoft SharePoint.
• IP PBX voice ports also enable PTT channel access from desk phones.
• WAVE is secure, with AES 256 bit encryption on voice and data. Audio, control and credentials are all encrypted over the broadband network.