Elancourt, 30 November 2016 – The team of the French LTE4PMR research and development project that develops a mission-critical LTE communications solution for public safety organisations has set operational priorities for its second phase. To integrate crucial demands of end users, the project’s leader Airbus Defence and Space recently gathered forty representatives of the French public safety sector at its Elancourt site, near Paris in France. The results of this meeting allow for the finalisation of a coherent LTE scheme for Professional Mobile Radio (PMR).
LTE4PMR will be focusing on three aspects in the coming 15 months. First, the project will enable existing communications systems to interact with the project’s LTE developments, for instance the French Tetrapol national network INPT (Infrastructure Nationale Partagée des Transmissions) and Public Safety mobiles attached to the French carrier Mobile Network Operators. Second, the project’s engineers will adapt mobile LTE solutions to actual field use cases outlined by the end users during the first phase. Third, LTE4PMR will bring in line the overall LTE solution with Release 13 of the Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a global organisation that sets international telecommunications standards. 
“LTE4PMR has rapidly progressed thanks to the strong involvement of all partners. We will soon be able to offer a full-fledged LTE solution for public safety”, said Olivier Koczan,
Head of Secure Land Communications at Airbus Defence and Space.
Since January 2016, the LTE4PMR consortium comprises French telecommunication companies and universities to develop mission-critical broadband solutions for public safety organisations. The project is partly funded by the French authorities through the Banque Publique d’Investissement (BPI) and the “Investissements d’Avenir” programme.
The final results of LTE4PMR will be presented at the end of 2017. They will consist of a comprehensive and interoperable set of mission-critical solutions leveraging commercial mobile broadband services as well as dedicated networks in 400/450 MHz and 700 MHz radio frequencies.
Photo copyright: Airbus
Airbus Defence and Space
Airbus Defence and Space, a division of Airbus Group, is Europe’s number one defence and space enterprise and the second largest space business worldwide. Its activities include space, military aircraft and related systems and services. It employs more than 38,000 people and in 2015 generated revenues of over 13 billion euros.
Secure Land Communications (SLC), a subsidiary of Airbus Defence and Space, develops, installs and maintains professional and land mobile radio (PMR/LMR) networks based on Tetra, Tetrapol and P25 technologies and offers a wide range of radio solutions and devices for customers worldwide. The portfolio also encompasses mission-critical broadband solutions based on 3GPP standards and emergency response centres (911/112). SLC is a leader in PMR, with more than 280 radio networks in over 74 countries, and the US leader for 911 response centres with the VESTA 911 call handling solution serving more than 60% of the market. SLC employs nearly 1,700 people in 20 countries.
Contacts:
Anke Sturtzel + 33 1 6138 5330 anke.sturtzel@airbus.com
Kai Schlichtermann + 33 1 6138 5547 kai.schlichtermann@airbus.com
