Industrial radio networks based on cellular communication: PLTE, PoC + VHF. Experience of implementation and use

• Why Businesses Need Voice Communication
• What is available on the market
• What can be done
• How is the problem solved?
• How the company chose between DMR and PLTE
• Features of DMR operation
• Parallel use of DMR and PoC
• Conclusions
• Questions and Answers

Maxim Karankevich, Director of Data and Digital Transformation, Ultramar, in this presentation shares his experience of implementing an industrial radio network based on cellular communications in his company. The results of the optimization were cost savings, improved quality and stability of communications, coverage of all areas, including hard-to-reach ones.

Why Businesses Need Voice Communication

Changing voice communications at a high-risk industrial facility is not practical. It is a bad decision for a number of reasons.

Voice communication:

• increases the manageability of production processes;
• reduces risks – hands and eyes remain free to perform operations;
• allows you to quickly exchange short messages.

An alternative to voice communication is phone calls and general chats. However, they are inconvenient in a company with a large number of employees. When a team is working, it is impossible to call everyone in turn. Everyone needs to hear at the same time. Employees also do not have time to constantly read publications in chats. This distracts from the processes, some messages are lost in the feed if there is an active discussion. On the territory of many enterprises, you cannot take your phone out of your pocket, as it will definitely fall and break on concrete or crushed stone. No rubber frames and silicone screens will protect it.

What is available on the market

There are digital radio standards – DMR and Tetra. The most widespread is DMR, which is used in many industrial enterprises.

The advantages of the standards include:

• independent of operators;
• have a simple implementation for up to 100 subscribers;
• are distinguished by the low price of terminals.

There are also significant disadvantages. The biggest problem in industrial agglomerations is the lack of frequencies. You can't just install a radio station so that it works at the enterprise. You can either use the public range, which everyone around talks on, which creates interference, or coordinate frequencies. This is usually refused or given one or two, on which you can hang only 2-4 channels.

What can be done

Operators offer to use radio communication over LTE. The radio station is an android phone with a small screen, a large battery and a very powerful speaker. Digital radio communication PoC (Push-to-Talk over Cellular) works wherever there is a mobile network or Wi-Fi. It is deployed at the base stations of civil operators. All you need to do is to conclude an agreement with them, buy servers that control the radio stations.