Over the past year, Tait Communications has taken several steps to demonstrate their commitment and leadership when it comes to the DMR standard. DMR is a backed by a number of suppliers and is driven by open standards. The wide range of supplier participation, guidance, and innovation has led to several key benefits of DMR Technology. These include improved audio performance, backwards spectrum compatibility with legacy systems, longer battery life, voice and data applications, and the security of supply. That last benefit is worth diving into even more. According the DMR Association, "DMR is a fully public open standard, backed by a wide variety of vendors, meaning that buyers can be assured of continuity of supply. More suppliers results in more choice for users, more rapid product development, and lower prices from competitive pressures." The DMR standards change and grow over time in response to customer needs and innovation from suppliers. Ongoing testing is needed to ensure interoperability is maintained for all suppliers of DMR. "Dealers and customers have many choices when offering DMR open-standard solutions. It's available at a variety of price points and features, without the need for proprietary capabilities that limit supply and expose risk to customers," commented Bruce Mazza, President of Tait America. In late 2018, Tait Communications sent an open invitation to all members of the DMR Association to visit their New Zealand headquarters and test DMR terminals on the Tait DMR Tier 3 infrastructure. Ross Spearman, CTO of Tait, explained their goal in hosting the event: "We believe in interoperability and providing choice for our customers. We hope others will host these kinds of events in the future because they help drive the industry forward and provide the most benefit to the organizations who depend on communications to do their jobs safely and efficiently." Four different vendors accepted invitations, and testing was completed successfully. The DMR Association now certifies interoperability for Tait DMR Tier 3 with Motorola, Excera, Kirisun, Simoco. Not only did Tait host interoperability testing, they've also introduced some new and exciting features for their DMR portfolio. The first new development for Tait DMR is faster polling data. Location services capability is a fundamental building block to improving many operational efficiency and safety outcomes. For this reason, the newest DMR standards called for faster polling rates. Tait has, therefore, made significant investments and will continue to invest in Tait DMR location data capabilities. This most recent update means the Tait 9300 series can now offer polling at a rate eight times faster than previously possible, while still maintaining mission critical voice services. Another new feature is that the Tait 9300 mobiles and portables are now capable of automated location-controlled behavior through GeoFencing. This is a powerful, unique capability of Tait DMR that enhances efficiency and worker safety. Organizations can program geographic areas and boundaries that cause the radio to automatically take certain actions based on location. This process is independent of the network, dispatch, or any other software applications. Geofencing means automatic responses can be triggered by passing in/out of geographic zones include mode changes, messages, audio alerts, activation of features such as Lone Worker, and other digital inputs and output. For instance, as a radio passes in and out of the predefined zones, it can be set to automatically switch between analog, MPT, DMR Conventional, and DMR Trunked networks. You can also program the radio to automatically send a text message based on location, or instantly create an alarm if the worker enters an unsafe area. In addition to some exciting new features to their 9300 series, Tait also released a DMR Tier 2 portable to the market in late 2018. The TP3000 is open standard portable radio that can be personalized in ways that no professional radio has been before. Organizations can choose from one of 8 colored panel and add custom labels. For more information:Tait Communications displays commitment to open standards and pushing the DMR standard forward
6 June, 2019, Christchurch, New Zealand
Open Standards in Action
New Developments in DMR