Team Simoco Selected for UK’s First Commercial TETRA Installation

DERBY, UK (20 June 2005) – Radio communications specialist Team Simoco and Accredited Partner Resound Ltd have won a major contract to supply the first Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) system in UK retail security.

The agreement will see Team Simoco working with Resound to implement the market leading TETRA system at a major UK shopping centre, where over 120 staff will be using the new solution.

Previously operating with a conventional analogue two-way radio system from Resound, the shopping centre management company required a more modern system capable of providing additional capacity and advanced features for communication among management, security, customer services, cleaning and car parking personnel.

With a brief to provide individual call, multiple group call and interconnection with the existing on-site telephone system, Resound and Team Simoco initially provided options for both an Analogue and Digital Trunking solution - using the established MPT1327 specification and the latest TETRA technology selected for use by UK Police Forces.

To meet the growing demands of the retail environment the management company chose the trunked digital TETRA system, which will ensure greater traffic capacity, enhanced security of communications, clearer speech quality, and the ability to incorporate future data and telephony services as technology advances.

Providing cutting-edge TETRA products and services to organisations worldwide, Team Simoco was able to work with Resound to carry out a comprehensive radio survey for the centre using a full trial TETRA system and four TETRA handportables. This provided a detailed comparison between the existing analogue system and the proposed digital system, ensuring coverage levels performed well throughout the site.

Scheduled for final installation in June 2005, the new system’s Base Station is manufactured by Etelm and provides four ‘time slots’ on a single RF Carrier. These are used for control, voice and data transmissions, with three simultaneous two-way radio conversations now possible. The system also provides the ability to add a further RF channel to handle future developments.

The solution will provide 117 SRP2000 handportables from Sepura for use by centre staff. Compact and light weight, the SRP2000 was chosen for its industry leading reputation and high degree of acceptance with UK Police Forces.

A major element of the project was getting the license for this first commercial TETRA system. Resound worked closely with OFCOM engineering and licensing staff for the necessary channel planning and allocations, enabling the shopping centre management company to gain its own license.

Mike Norfield, managing director of Team Simoco, added: "This is the first commercial TETRA installation in the UK and it is recognition of Team Simoco’s expertise in this area that Resound and the shopping centre management company chose to work with us on such a key project.

"TETRA is no longer a technology solely for the emergency services. The advancements being made by Team Simoco have developed it into an affordable, practical and reliable communications solution for organisations of any size, from SMEs to international corporations.

"The quality, security and control available through TETRA is already being used with great success in commercial projects on the continent. With this new installation we are set to see growing interest from organisations across the UK, particularly in sectors such as retail and transport where effective communication can be so key to business performance."
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About TETRA

Best known as the radio communications system used by the emergency services, TETRA is an open digital trunked radio standard defined by the European Telecommunications Standardisation Institute (ETSI), and is designed to provide the highest performance and data functionality levels for mobile radio users. The standard is now increasingly being used worldwide and the new contract paves the way for wider use of TETRA solutions within the commercial market.



About Team Simoco

Team Simoco is one of the World’s leading radio communications specialists, providing cutting edge Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) and Private Mobile Radio (PMR) products and services to organisations around the globe.
Based in Derby, UK, Team Simoco develops radio solutions such as PMR, TETRA and DMR and works with market leading technologies such as Bluetooth, WiFi, VoiP and DSPs. The company also runs a world-renowned service centre from its offices in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, which repairs equipment from current and previous generations of mobile radio.
Team Simoco operates in a growing range of markets around the World, including emergency services, military, public sector, utilities and transport across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America and the Far East.

Media Contact:
Rachel Builder or Kate Longden
Context
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teamsimoco@contextpr.co.uk