The members of ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) developed the trunked radio standard TETRA (TErrestrial Trunked RAdio). The scope of users of TETRA includes not only the public safety organizations, but also, for example, users in the area of transports and public local traffic companies.

In France by order of the Police Nationale, the French company Matra Nortel Communications developed the trunked radio system TETRAPOL, which is adapted to the needs of the public safety forces. TETRAPOL, a highly spectrum efficient FDMA technology, with many networks in operation globally, has proven its value to the UK MOD, NATO and UN in overseas assignments as well as to many other private and government customers.

Both trunked radio systems have been chosen as platforms for the operation of national radio networks. They offer services like digital encrypted voice transmission, connection-oriented and connectionless data transmission. Available voice services include:

-Individual call: Point-to-point (PtP) connection between a calling and a called subscriber.
-Group call: Point-to-multipoint (PMP) connection between calling subscriber and a group called through a common group number.
-Emergency call: With activating an emergency call, the terminal transmits a status message. The dispatcher can either activate an open channel or set-up a connection with high priority to the calling subscriber.
-Direct call: PtP connection between two mobile devices with no use of the infrastructure.
-Broadcast call: PMP connection in which the subscriber group dialed through a broadcast number can only hear the calling subscriber.

The trunked radio techniques are replacing the analog radio networks.

The report goal was:

-To analyze TETRA and TETRAPOL technologies and markets
-To compare two standards.

The customers for PMR systems should be able to choose between competing technologies. The benefits for public and private sector customers being able to base their procurement strategies on strict value for money and fitness for purpose criteria are self-evident. To achieve this requires a more even-handed approach to the allocation of spectrum for digital PMR systems, which until now has been heavily biased in favor of TETRA systems.

TETRAPOL systems can accommodate multiple users with differing needs on a single network, allowing high security users to manage their own network resources, access rights and traffic data if appropriate. This functionality strengthens the business model for a national TETRAPOL operator who could provide services to governments and private users alike without risk of anti-competitive cross-subsidization occurring. There would be significant economic benefits to the public sector in not having to own dedicated network infrastructure.

TETRAPOL systems can inter-work with TETRA systems and have an excellent record of non-interference with vehicle and other electronic systems allowing it to happily co-exist with existing PMR/PAMR technologies.

Our analysis showed that TETRA is ahead of TETRAPOL in finding markets. This does not mean that TETRAPOL will gradually disappear: for the foreseeable future, it seems that two markets will co-exist, and two systems not only compete but compliment each other.

The TETRA market is saturated with at least twenty companies, Motorola being the largest vendor; the TETRAPOL market, though smaller, is supported by only one major vendor -EDAS (in addition, some companies manufacture various modules for TETRAPOL radio).