Simoco to Launch P25 Phase 2 for SDM Mobile Radio at Comms Connect

The proven multi-bearer platform upgrade opens up greater choice for public safety customers in Australia and USA.

In March of this year Simoco Wireless Solutions first announced support for the widely used P25 digital radio standard on its SDM mobile radio terminal with the promise of P25 Phase 2 to follow. Now, the Melbourne based manufacturer is delivering on that promise at this year’s Comms Connect exhibition with the roll out of P25 Phase 2 on the SDM platform which already boasts a wide range of digital and analogue radio capabilities. Not only does this bring more choice to the P25 Phase 2 market but it also means existing customers can upgrade existing terminals to the higher capacity digital standard.

Healthy Competition for GRN customers

For a number of years, the P25 Phase 2 market in Australia, in particular, has been held back by a lack of competition, with only a handful of vendors of compatible terminals. So, organisations like the large GRNs (Government Radio Networks), that have invested heavily in P25 infrastructure, had to take what was on offer from the original manufacturers, usually an overseas supplier. Mike Norfield, Group CEO of Simoco Wireless Solutions commented: “The benefits and cost efficiencies that P25 Phase 2 offers requires an open market and we were encouraged by major customers to deliver an alternative. Not only can we offer more choice but our SDM terminal is a product of Australian engineering and manufacturing skills. The last few years have highlighted the importance of maintaining technical sovereignty, especially in critical areas like public safety.”

P25 Phase 2: A Step Change for Public Safety Radio

P25 Phase 2 is a major step forward in the development of the public safety standard as it effectively doubles the capacity of Phase 1 which is vital in densely populated urban areas. With additional security features like AES encryption, P25 Phase 2 means that police, fire and ambulance services can safely collaborate over a common network. Peter Scarlata, CEO Simoco Australasia commented: “We have enjoyed remarkable success with the SDM as part of our DMR Tier 2 and DMR Tier 3 product range but given P25’s dominance in the public safety market, we needed to offer a compatible product to give us access to this market. The move to P25 Phase 2 was however essential and it has been a heroic effort by our engineering teams to bring it to market in time for Comms Connect.”

SDM — A Radio for all Seasons

The Simoco SDM mobile radio terminal has an excellent track record as a reliable and capable product in the two-way radio world, providing for multiple bearers from analogue to conventional radio through to digital standards like DMR Tier 2 / DMR Tier 3 as well as MPT1327. Sold all over the World and in use in a wide variety of sectors from government and public transport to mining, oil and gas, power and utilities, the SDM provides a clear upgrade path for customers at different stages of their mobile radio journey. The Simoco SDM range has a number of additional features that make it a strong contender for addition to any radio network, be that P25 Phase 2, P25 Phase 1, DMR or analogue. As well as being designed to high specification military standards to work in harsh environments, it offers customers a similar screen layout and menu based on the proven SRM9000 P25 series mobile radio for an easy user migration and high sensitivity so that it works more effectively in fringe, low signal areas. It also has the option of an API to allow users to develop bespoke applications and supports lone worker alerts.

Protecting Your Two-Way Radio Investment

As well as offering choice to existing users of P25 Phase 2 standard networks, Simoco is targeting customers looking to migrate to P25 Phase 2 in the future but not yet ready to make that move because of investment in other technologies like analogue or DMR, or budget restrictions. Scarlata continued: “With SDM terminals we can offer them a cost-effective migration path. They can equip their vehicles with SDM radios today for DMR or analogue networks. Then, they keep that investment when they can move to P25, without having to swap them all out again.”

Integration With Velocity for LTE and Satellite Mobile Data

As well as being fully compatible with all the major P25 manufacturers the SDM mobile can also integrate with Simoco’s intelligent edge computing device, Velocity. Also developed in Australia, Velocity can combine with P25 Phase 2 to provide data services for emergency services vehicles; effectively turning them into mobile Wi-Fi hotspots. A police car, fire truck or ambulance could be equipped with SDM radios for normal two-way radio but, with the addition of Velocity, this can open up a whole range of data services like video streaming for body worn cameras or ‘push to talk over cellular’ using LTE or satellite communications for use in areas where there is no P25 signal access.