And so it starts...

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rustynswrail
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And so it starts...

Post by rustynswrail » Tue Feb 28, 2012 1:00 pm

Borrowed this from another source;

Motorola Solutions will stay on-board to provide the emergency-services radio network for the Victorian Government for the next four years, and to upgrade the service in a deal worth $130 million.

Motorola Solutions secured the deal after meeting service requirements for the Metropolitan Mobile Radio network that it built for the government in 2004. That network is used by the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA), the Victorian Police, Ambulance Victoria and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade in Melbourne. The company will upgrade the P25 standard frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) network to P25 phase two time-division multiple access (TDMA) in the four-year period of the new agreement between July 2012 and July 2016.

According to Gary Starr, managing director of Motorola Solutions Australia, upgrading the network will ensure that the government keeps up with demand in high-population areas, where spectrum is scarce, because TDMA effectively doubles the amount of spectrum that the network can use.

"All the networks will evolve to this phase two, particularly important in major population areas," he said, adding that the upgrade is simple and already underway.

"The network is being refreshed as we speak, actually," he said. "It's literally a software switch to switch it on."

Although the upgrade is part of the pitch by Motorola to keep the contract for another four years, Starr said that Motorola Solutions has been "obsessive" about meeting the contract requirements. He said that for installation, the company would have a two-hour turnaround time to install new radios in some vehicles.

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Bigfella237
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Re: And so it starts...

Post by Bigfella237 » Tue Feb 28, 2012 1:15 pm

Do XTL/XTS5000 radios even do TDMA?

I've seen the flashcode option (GA00580 for mobiles or QA00580 for portables) on all the APX radios but not on the older radios as yet?

Andrew

Sigint
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Re: And so it starts...

Post by Sigint » Tue Feb 28, 2012 2:03 pm

rustynswrail wrote:The company will upgrade the P25 standard frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) network to P25 phase two time-division multiple access (TDMA) in the four-year period of the new agreement between July 2012 and July 2016.[/i]
Despite what was said above, I wonder if it will be genuine APCO Phase II, or Motorola's version of it.

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col05_au
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Re: And so it starts...

Post by col05_au » Tue Feb 28, 2012 3:14 pm

Andrew,

I don't think they do, one would think the XTS / XTL series must be near the end on there life.

Col
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ivahri
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Re: And so it starts...

Post by ivahri » Tue Feb 28, 2012 3:26 pm

They don't, it would be based on the APX series radios which can. Other vendors will be able to do that soon enough.

If it isn't delivered as an open platform P25 PII then it is the fault of those writing the tenders...

Cheers,


Richard

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Bigfella237
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Re: And so it starts...

Post by Bigfella237 » Tue Feb 28, 2012 8:27 pm

ivahri wrote:They don't, it would be based on the APX series radios which can
Hmm... it would seem to me that a whole heap of agencies who have and are still buying XTL & XTS radios will be asking some difficult questions of their comms consultants within a couple of years then! :roll:

I was also wondering about South Australia's upcoming P25 upgrade and whether they will bypass all these "stages" and go straight to a P25 Phase II system? Seems logical...

Andrew

citabria
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Re: And so it starts...

Post by citabria » Tue Feb 28, 2012 9:30 pm

P25 Phase 2 networks are backwards compatible with Phase 1.

If a Phase 1 (FDMA) only radio joins a Phase 2 (TDMA) talkgroup, all radios on that talkgroup drop back to operating in Phase 1 (FDMA) mode.

ivahri
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Re: And so it starts...

Post by ivahri » Wed Feb 29, 2012 6:32 am

Considering Moto have already advised their customers that these models are being discontinued in coming years (that does not mean they aren't going to be supported long after that- they just aren't going to make any more), I'd be surprised if they don't know that but are opting for them for other reasons. My personal preference would be to buy APXs... just because they are a superb radio & are still being enhanced further.

Why is it logical for SA to go to Phase II? Maybe in Adelaide but not sure what pressing issue requires a TDMA solution in the middle of nowhere. Sydney or Melbourne I can understand but Adelaide?

Richard

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Bigfella237
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Re: And so it starts...

Post by Bigfella237 » Wed Feb 29, 2012 11:41 am

ivahri wrote:Why is it logical for SA to go to Phase II? Maybe in Adelaide but not sure what pressing issue requires a TDMA solution in the middle of nowhere. Sydney or Melbourne I can understand but Adelaide? Richard
I was thinking more from a technological point of view rather than RF-spacial... I mean if they are updating the entire network anyway doesn't it make sense to go with Phase II gear right from the start, especially seeing as Victoria will likely be using PII by then and NSW probably won't be far behind?

Maybe it's just me but when I go looking to buy a new car I don't settle for last year's model...

Andrew

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Bigfella237
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Re: And so it starts...

Post by Bigfella237 » Wed Feb 29, 2012 11:55 am

citabria wrote:P25 Phase 2 networks are backwards compatible with Phase 1.

If a Phase 1 (FDMA) only radio joins a Phase 2 (TDMA) talkgroup, all radios on that talkgroup drop back to operating in Phase 1 (FDMA) mode.
Ah, that explains a lot, thanks!

Although I can see that would present a headache when it comes to planning site capacity, obviously you would have to assume that all traffic will still be FDMA as, in a perfect world where all radios on one particular site are TDMA, it may only take a few old radios to effectively halve the site's capacity?

Andrew

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