Differences Between Digital Radio Standards | Tait Communications

There are so many digital radio standards available today – with more being developed and coming to market each year – it’s difficult to know which is best for your business.

The ‘big two’ at the moment are DMR Tier 3 Trunked and P25 Phase 2. There are also many other standards, both open (eg: dPMR and TETRA) and proprietary (eg: NXDN). By understanding some of the fundamental differences behind each technology, and aligning these with what you need from your radio system, you can quickly figure out which standard best meets those needs.

Run through these questions with your network migration specialist:

• Do we need a trunked system or a conventional system?
• What advantages would migrating to a digital radio system give me over my current analog system?
• What advantages would migrating to an open standard give me over migrating to a proprietary standard?
• What’s the difference between DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) and dPMR (digital Private Mobile Radio)? And what benefits would each of them bring me?
• What’s the difference between DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) and TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio)? And what benefits would each of them bring me?
• Will my coverage levels stay the same, or will I need more sites?
• How do TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) based systems result in longer shift life?

If you’re wondering about the answers (or the questions!) check out our free
Digital Radio Standards Uncovered white paper.

This paper explains the key differences used in radio technology and compares the performance of a range of digital radio standards against certain key criteria found in a typical wide-area network, as used by leading Public Safety and Utilities organizations.

If you’re looking for some helpful tips to plan your migration to a new digital radio network, read our Upgrading to Trunked DMR white paper