TETRAPOL (short for TErrestrial TRunked RAdio POLice) is a digital professional mobile radio standard, as defined by the TETRAPOL

Publicly Available Specification A Publicly Available Specification or PAS is a standardization document that closely resembles a formal standard in structure and format but which has a different development model. The objective of a Publicly Available Specification is to speed up ...

(PAS), used by professional user groups such as public safety, military, industry and transportation organizations throughout the world.

Airbus Defence and Space Airbus Defence and Space is a division of Airbus SE. Formed in 2014 in the restructuring of European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS), Airbus SE comprises the former Airbus Military, Astrium, and divisions. Contributing 21% of Airbus reven ...

is the main supplier of this technology.

Description

TETRAPOL is a fully digital, FDMA, professional mobile radio system for closed user groups, standardizing the whole radio network from data and voice terminal via base stations to switching equipment, including interfaces to the

Public switched telephone network The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is the aggregate of the world's telephone networks that are operated by national, regional, or local telephony operators. It provides infrastructure and services for public telephony. The PSTN consists o ...

and data networks. End-to-end encryption is an integral part of the standard.
Tetrapol Publicly Available Specifications
(registration required) has detailed information and an overview picture.

History

Matra Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a major French industrial Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Its business activities covered a wide range of industries, notably aerospace manufacturer, aerospace, defence industry, def ...

/EADS developed TETRAPOL and delivered an operational digital trunked

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

system at an early date. Among the first users was the French

National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie ( ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police (France), National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Minister ...

in 1988 for its RUBIS system. TETRAPOL currently has 80 networks deployed in 34 countries. Countries with TETRAPOL networks include: France, Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, Spain, Brazil, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Djibouti, and Singapore. EADS (Connexity) and Siemens (S-PRO) are among the major manufacturers of professional radio systems based on the TETRAPOL specification. In 2012 the Brazilian federal police bought a network to use during the FIFA World Cup.

Alternative Solutions

TETRA is an open standard by

ETSI The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is an independent, not-for-profit, standardization organization operating in the field of Information and communications technology, information and communications. ETSI supports the de ...

. TETRA is a more recent standard than Tetrapol, taking over concepts from cell phones. It is favored in Europe for its extensibility and lower entry barrier for competitors in the market. Networks can be found worldwide. The UK

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

stipulated in the 1990s that TETRA systems should be used. Matra Communications SAS brought a

legal case Legal proceeding is an activity that seeks to invoke the power of a tribunal in order to enforce a law. Although the term may be defined more broadly or more narrowly as circumstances require, it has been noted that " e term ''legal proceedings'' ...

to the UK High Court in 1998 challenging Home Office policy and arguing that a

public procurement Government procurement or public procurement is the purchase of goods, works (construction) or services by the state, such as by a government agency or a state-owned enterprise. In 2019, public procurement accounted for approximately 12% of GDP ...

procedure undertaken for the acquisition of a TETRA system denied Matra a chance to win the contract. Proceedings were issued after a TETRA contract had been awarded but the court held that the case should have been brought within three months of when the grounds for bringing legal action first arose, which was when the tender was advertised, and therefore the proceedings were time-barred.England and Wales Court of Appeal
Matra Communications SAS v Home Office
, 25 February 1999, accessed on 18 June 2024 dPMR is an open standard by

. dPMR is a more recent standard than TETRA. It offers voice and data and a better spectrum efficiency than TETRA. It can also be used in unlicensed 446 MHz spectrum. DMR is a limited open digital mobile radio standard defined by

and used in commercial products around the world. It's also seen widespread success within the ham radio community mainly due to low costs. P25 is an open standard by the

Telecommunications Industry Association The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop voluntary, consensus-based industry standards for a wide variety of information and communication technology (Informat ...

(TIA). The system is favored in North America for its upgrade option on existing analogue radio networks in the area. Other networks can be found worldwide (South and Central America, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Oceania and Africa).

References

External links

TETRAPOL Portal

* ttp://www.selecom.fr/index.php?famille=3&rub=41&langue=ENG SELECOMis a well-established French designer and manufacturer of TETRA / TETRAPOL repeaters
Digital Radio: Wireless Solution for Audio and Date Trafic
a paper that Prof. Dr. Cristiano Torres do Amaral presented in a conference about Tetrapol. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tetrapol Trunked radio systems Emergency communication