TETRA+LTE smartphone

Airbus has launched a new handset, which combines TETRA radio for group voice communication and LTE for broadband data. The product is called Tactilon Dabat.



Very little information is available yet. It has 4.7 inch touch screen. It has normal TETRA handset features including PTT button, loud audio and rugged hardware with IP65 & IP67 rating. Security of the smartphone is covered simply stating that all data within the device is encrypted.

Nothing is said about the LTE features. Very likely the LTE band selection matches with common commercial LTE bands in TETRA markets. Because the announcement does not highlight LTE features it probably does not have any of the 3GPP mission critical features like release 12 QCIs.

So the device has two radios, which can be used simultaneously. Therefore the current consumption could be an issue especially, if the applications use LTE radio frequently during missions. Battery capacity is not yet known except it is "long-lasting" and battery can be changed.

The device is useful at least for improved situational awareness. There are front and back cameras in the smartphone, which can used for sharing images and videos with control center and other colleagues. Large screen allows to check the received images and videos from the scene shared by the first teams already on the site.

This is very positive step towards mission critical LTE. With a right set of data applications and high performance LTE, TETRA users will learn the benefits of MBB resulting in data application becoming as critical as group voice calls are today. As soon as the user groups notice improved efficiency, there is no return back to legacy voice only procedures.

Comments

  1. UnknownJune 13, 2016 at 6:13 PM

    Datasheet available here: http://www.securelandcommunications.com/hubfs/pdf/Tactilon_Dabat_datasheet_EN_AirbusDS.pdf?t=1465824851129

    ReplyDelete

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