Some unique PMR services of TETRA are:
- Wide area fast call set-up "all informed net" group calls
- Direct Mode Operation (DMO) allowing "back to back" communications between radio terminals independent of the network
- High level voice encryption to meet the security needs of public safety organisations
- An Emergency Call facility that gets through even if the system is busy
- Full duplex voice for PABX and PSTN telephony communications
The
abbreviation SwMI is used to classify all of the equipment and
sub-systems that comprise a TETRA network, including base stations.
The
most important and complex interfaces are considered to be the air
interfaces' between the base station and radio terminals (1) and the
Direct Mode Operation (DMO) interface (2).
DMO is a facility that allows terminals to operate in local radio nets independent of the main TETRA network infrastructure.
This is the interface that sits between the system and the user. This includes the hardware buttons, menu system and, in a way, the programming software.
This interface standardises the connection of the radio terminal to an external device, and supports data transmission between applications in the device and the connected TETRA radio terminal. The PEI also supports certain elements of control within the radio terminal from the external device and/or application.
This
interface was intended to allow connection to remote wire
line dispatcher consoles like those located in major control rooms.
Work on this interface was dropped in ETSI TC TETRA as it was considered
too complex to implement without degrading performance.This was because
the PMR industry had
specialist manufacturers of control room equipment, the majority of
which differed in the way they interfaced to PMR networks. Similarly,
the TETRA network architecture of manufacturers also differed.
This standardised interface enables TETRA to interface with the PSTN, the ISDN and/or a PABX. |
This standardised Inter-System Interface (ISI) allows infrastructures supplied by different TETRA manufacturers to inter-operate with each other allowing interoperability between two or more networks.
Like the local dispatcher interface, it was recognised during standardisation activities that a common network management interface was impractical. Fortunately, this early standardisation was not wasted as it was later turned into a comprehensive guide to assist users in defining network management requirements. |