11 July 2022

Terence Ledger, worldwide sales director, Sepura

Public safety organisations are increasingly being challenged for resources and time, so users need to make the most of the powerful communications solutions that have been invested in.

Modern digital radios are capable of much more than just voice communications, although this remains their primary mission critical capability. Two critical areas for deploying advanced communications solutions are sharing mission critical data and enabling wireless radio programming.

Sharing mission critical data

The ability to communicate both voice and data on a secure, encrypted device opens the door for the deployment of intelligent applications to support users.

This plays an important role in helping to ensure better situational awareness for team leaders, enabling smarter operational decisions to be made.

Data can be shared from a variety of sources, dependent on an organisation’s operational procedures. Examples can include:

• Health data from attached devices, such as heart rate monitors
• Location data, based on Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connected geofences. Team leaders can see where operational staff are located and what their status is, and can assign tasks according, improving efficiency
• Job dispatch information, sent from the control room to specific individuals or teams. Radio users can quickly accept roles, or indicate if further resources are required.

Data can also be manually entered by the radio user and sent over the network. This can be used to confirm routine maintenance tasks have been completed and that specific messages have been received.

Benefits of Data Sharing

Organisations that share this key data over existing networks can reduce costs by maximising the use of their existing hardware, while improving efficiency by enabling improved situational awareness. Voice channels are kept clear for emergency communications while field users can use data sent to their radio to refer to when required.

Enabling over the air programming

Lengthy, resource-heavy procedures such as re-programming radios can be a significant logistical challenge, with radios based in multiple locations and shift working affecting when they can be made available for upgrades.

Improved connectivity options on modern TETRA radios via secure Wi-Fi makes available the option to update radios remotely as a fleet or in controlled groups, as and when suits the operation.

This is significant as it makes the reprogramming and radio update much simpler, more efficient and more flexible around operational needs. Using Sepura’s established Radio Manager programming tool, administrators can upgrade all SC Series radios across a fleet, whether they are used in vehicles, based in control rooms or hand-held models.

Over the Air Programming enables organisations to change many aspects of a radio’s setup; options include amends to a radio’s configuration, phonebook or talkgroup updates, enabling feature licenses, installation of AppSPACE applications or the upload of crucial data.

Wireless programming vastly reduces the risk of radio downtime; rather than requiring every fleet radio to be in one central location for the process, the fleet programmer can programme multiple radios, at a set time.

Radios can be based in disparate locations such as satellite offices or vehicle parking lots. As long as they are connected to a trusted and approved secure Wi-Fi connection, the update can be deployed. By synchronising the fleet upgrade, organisations can avoid the operational issues that may arise due to out of step configuration between radios normally faced via the wired programming method.

Downloading data to the radio does not interrupt any communication and does not require user intervention. Users can continue with their duties while downloads run as a background task. Once downloaded, the user is still in control and triggers the installation process at the next radio switch off.
These solutions are available for users of Sepura’s advanced SC Series TETRA radios, used by major public safety and other mission critical organisations around the world.