LTE4PMR to focus on interoperability, field performance and alignment with 3GPP Release 13

Following a meeting in which the project's leader, Airbus Defence and Space, gathered gathered forty representatives of the French public safety sector at its Elancourt site, near Paris in France, the French LTE4PMR R&D project to develop mission critical LTE communications for public safety organisations has set its operational priorities for the second phase of its development.

Following a meeting in which the project’s leader, Airbus Defence and Space, gathered gathered forty representatives of the French public safety sector at its Elancourt site, near Paris in France, the French LTE4PMR R&D project to develop mission critical LTE communications for public safety organisations has set its operational priorities for the second phase of its development. 

It will focus on the following over the coming 15 months: 

  • Enabling existing communications systems to interact with the project’s LTE developments, e.g. the French Tetrapol national network INPT (Infrastructure Nationale Partagée des Transmissions) and Public Safety mobiles attached to French MNOs
  • Adapting mobile LTE solutions to actual field use cases outlined by the end users during the first phase
  • Bringing LTE4PMR’s LTE solution in line with 3GPP Release 13. 

Image: © Airbus Defence and Space

“LTE4PMR has rapidly progressed thanks to the strong involvement of all partners. We will soon be able to offer a full-fledged LTE solution for public safety”, said Olivier Koczan, head of Secure Land Communications at Airbus Defence and Space.   

Since January 2016, the LTE4PMR consortium, comprising French telecommunication companies and universities, was formed in January 2016. The project is partly funded by the French authorities through the Banque Publique d’Investissement (BPI) and the “Investissements d’Avenir” programme. 

LTE4PMR’s final results will be presented at the end of 2017. According to Airbus Defence and Space, “They will consist of a comprehensive and interoperable set of mission-critical solutions leveraging commercial mobile broadband services as well as dedicated networks in 400/450 MHz and 700 MHz radio frequencies.”