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About TIG

The TETRA Industry Group (TIG) consists of organisations who are suppliers or users of TETRA-based technology - including Airwave Safety Communications Limited, EADS, London Underground Limited, Motorola, Sepura and The TETRA Association – and have a common interest in the health and environmental aspects of TETRA.

What is TETRA?

TETRA is an international open standard for digital mobile radio communications, developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute.

The term TETRA is commonly used to describe the technology known as Terrestrial Trunked Radio. This technology provides the resilient, robust, private mobile communications services that are needed by demanding professional users like the emergency services and commercial organisations with mobile workforces or large vehicle fleets, like the security, construction and transport industries.

TETRA has characteristics in common with the mobile communications networks we all use to make calls when we are on the move, and offers additional features to provide secure, reliable and versatile communications. The features available include digital call quality, transmission of voice, data and pictures, encryption, direct mode operation to allow local communications groups to be set up, and managed fallback.

Like all wireless systems, TETRA uses radio signals or radio waves in the non-ionising frequency band to provide communications services. Radio waves are part of our everyday lives and bring us the benefits of television, radio and communications on the move. A number of questions have been raised about whether radio frequency emissions might have an effect on the health and safety of users or the general public. There is an extensive base of scientific knowledge on this subject and this web site aims to provide an overview of the information available, together with the views of the TETRA Industry Group.

What are the benefits of TETRA?

TETRA technology offers a number of substantial benefits for commercial and emergency services users who depend on private, sophisticated, secure, resilient and versatile communications.  These include:

•  very high levels of reliability, resilience and security

•  digital call quality and clarity

•  rapid call set up

• the ability to transmit data and pictures

• direct mode local communications including one to one, one to many and group communications

• graceful managed fallback

• terminals offering simultaneous radio, mobile telephone and data services

• real-time access to critical information, locally and nationally

• automatic person and vehicle location one-touch help button to call for immediate assistance

• sophisticated encryption techniques.

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