Innovate. Connect. Unify.

WHITE PAPER
The Magic Bullet to Solving the
Digital Dispatch Conundrum
Optimizing Digital Radio Networks

Interoperability Gateways

Radio Dispatch Systems

Location Services

Radio over IP

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White Paper
Optimizing Digital Radio Networks

Table of Contents
This White Paper Covers:

THE DIGITAL CONUNDRUM

• New technolog y of the future
• Integrating existing systems
• Most effective solution 3
COMPLETE INTEROPERABILITY
• Migration from analog to digital
• Interoperability across protocols
• Interoperability of features
• Freedom to change
4
IMPROVED PERFORMANCE
• Stabilized networks
• No single point of failure
• Greater security 5
COST SAVINGS
• Simpler Maintenance
• Choice
• Sharing of protocols
• Single vocoder
6
COMPATIBILITY WITH WIDER IT NETWORKS
• Integrating Donor Radios
• Overcoming Networking Limitations
7
GATEWAY OPTIONS
• Interoperability Gateways
• RoIP Gateways
8
SUMMARY
• Solving the Conundrum
• Benefits
9
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White Paper
Optimizing Digital Radio Networks

Introduction
THE DIGITAL DISPATCH CONUNDRUM 
Fast-Track
Existing radio users looking to upgrade or extend their networks with AT A GLANCE
newer digital technology are faced with a plethora of obstacles that
are not often apparent. On the surface, transistioning to digital LMR Organizations that operate radio
may look straight forward BUT then integrating dispatch can become networks need to consider how to
a real headache: Issues of interoperability, legacy compatibility successfully integrate ‘new’ digital
and IT network performance can be very challenging to solve. radio solutions with infrastructures
It is easy to overlook the simplest, most reliable, and, ultimately, that involve legacy systems,
most cost-effective means under the avalanche of technical provisos. disparate radio vendors and other
third-party components. Dispatch
Digital radio systems such as P25, IP is normally used as the trans- is one of these critical components
DMR and NXDN have changed the port medium, providing a multi- that is central to all and can be a
two-way radio landscape as we tude of benefits. For analog radios, minefield to navigate. Is there an
know it. The number of features VoIP (or RoIP) gateways are a ne- easy way to do it?
available to mission critical com- cessity. However, for digital radi-
munications has been expanded os, the answer is not so obvious.
and continues to improve opera-
tional efficiencies around the world. Some digital radios use a combi-
However, digital LMR does not nation of analog audio and digital
work in isolation! It requires in- control (for example USB or seri-
tegration with other (sometimes al port). To connect such radios
older) technologies and with across remote sites or wide geo-
other sub-systems most nota- graphical regions, a RoIP gateway
bly computer-assisted dispatch. provides the best solution. Other
radios may provide an Ethernet
Each vendor and each model of ra- port that may support a SIP or RTP
dio may have a different method based protocol. At first glance, this

“
suggests they could be connected
over IP naturally. However, the real-
ity is that this approach may not be
Digital LMR does best practice or even economical.
NOT work in
isolation! Irrespective of whether you have
a radio with an Ethernet inter-
face or an audio/digital interface,
of integration to third-parties and there are some very good reasons
it is important to consider the op- to use a dedicated gateway.
tions available and how to get the
Coming up
best value from the technology. In this White Paper, we will Read Next:
explore 4 key ways in which
For dispatch operations in LMR, op- RoIP gateways can provide Complete Interoperability
erators need to be connected, either flexibility, reduce costs • Migration from analog to digital
directly or indirectly, to a mobile or and, ultimately, opti- • Interoperability across protocols
a repeater. For multiple channels, mize operations. • Interoperability of features
multiple connections are required. • Freedom to change

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White Paper
Optimizing Digital Radio Networks

COMPLETE INTEROPERABILITY
 MIGRATION FROM ANALOG TO tions to connect to multiple sys-
Fast-Track
DIGITAL tems, using different protocols, in a
AT A GLANCE The switch from an analog to a digi- cost-effective and uniform manner.
tal radio network can be a daunting For example, access to a one or two
Digital and analog radio networks process, usually involving technical talk groups on a P25 system can
can be seamlessly connected risk and carried-out over an extend- be provided by installing a simple
with a RoIP gateway, including ed time period. Not only does it in- standalone device that will integrate
dispatch. In addition multiple volve changing out equipment and with dispatch and other equipment.
radio protocols can be supported significant staff training, it can result
simultaneously, including specific in a lot of down time. INTEROPERABILITY OF
radio features. Gateways offer However, a RoIP gateway can be FEATURES
the choice and flexibility to select provisioned and deployed to sup- Standards are important. The lack
protocols and radio vendors. port both analog and digital radios. of proper standards means more
Whenever a radio or site is switched work for all of us, duplicating hard
over from analog to digital, all that design work and providing more
needs to be done is to upgrade to expensive solutions to our clients
the firmware in the gateway – not a at higher cost, and the solutions are
full replacement. In a dispatch envi- not interoperable.
ronment, analog and digital radios However, not all protocols define a
can be used seamlessly by opera- standard for each individual feature.
tors with minimal training and fuss. The prime example of this is loca-
By using this approach, migration can tion services. Many protocols do not
be phased to minimize downtime define a standard for interoperabili-
or to suit extended budget periods. ty across location services – leaving
it to individual manufacturers to cre-
INTEROPERABILITY ate their own API. This means that
ACROSS PROTOCOLS even if you use a single digital radio
In addition to analog / digital in- standard, you can be restricted to
teroperability, an organization will one manufacturer to ensure full fea-
want the choice to support multiple ture compatibility.
digital radio protocols. This is a com- That said, by using a radio gateway,
mon situation in public safety where this can be mainly overcome. Gate-
agencies and counties need to com- ways may be used to “standardize”
municate on multiple technologies these features to a certain extent.
such as NXDN and P25 or DMR and What this does is create a more uni-
P25. For example, many Sheriff’s of- form and well-defined environment
fices in the USA are required to use in which information can be more
Coming up P25 radios to ensure interoperability easily shared and accessed by users.
Read Next: across county lines. However, ac-
cess to P25 can be cost-prohibitive FREEDOM TO CHANGE
Improved Performance in many scenarios. All of this discussion on interop-
• Stabilized networks This is where RoIP gateways are erability boils down to one key
beneficial. They enable organiza- thing – choice. By using digital radio
• No single point of failure
gateways, organizations have the
• Greater security
flexibility to change protocols or ra-
dio manufacturers. They can more
easily adapt to future demands.

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White Paper
Optimizing Digital Radio Networks

IMPROVED PERFORMANCE

STABILIZED NETWORKS GREATER SECURITY Fast-Track
Radio side protocols are designed Separating the radio IP commu- AT A GLANCE
to work over stable networks with nications from the console IP
good bandwidth. However, it’s not network, creates a natural firewall Jitter and Packet loss can be
uncommon for dispatch consoles between the consoles and the radio countered by RoIP gateways,
to be remotely located in areas with system. This prevents unauthorized making networks more stable.
limited/poor IP access. RoIP Gate- access to the radio IP network and In addition they eliminate single
ways overcome this problem by significantly reduces the threat points of failure and add security
using highly robust and adaptable from cyber-attacks and hacking. and encryption to prevent
console-side protocols over these Furthermore, communications unsolicited access to a radio
links, negating the need to run the between the consoles and the radio network.
(less flexible) radio-side protocols. system can be encrypted, regard-
The protocol can deal with jitter less and independent of radio IP

“
and packet loss and can be config-
ured to suit the limitations of the
link.
Prevent
NO SINGLE POINT OF FAILURE unauthorized
Single points of failure are also
eliminated where multiple gate-
access to the
ways are used: failure of one device network
will not result in total failure of
communications. As an example,
you can use two NX5000 mobiles to protocols and of
provide dispatcher access at a site. actual radio com-
Each radio is connected to its own munications.
standalone gateway. One gateway
may be connected via broadband
IP and the other over a 4G network.
In this way, both gateways (radios)
are accessible to the dispatcher and
if one radio should fail, the other
will be available.

Coming up
Read Next:
Cost Savings
• Simpler maintenance
• Choice
• Sharing of protocols
• Single vocoder

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White Paper
Optimizing Digital Radio Networks

COST SAVINGS

Fast-Track SIMPLER MAINTENANCE manufacturer or protocol, you can
AT A GLANCE Gateways support better change now choose the most cost-effective
control for consoles and radio solution for your organization. A
protocols. Changes to proprietary digital RoIP gateway can be used to
RoIP gateways offer cost console functions can be under- connect a MotoTRBO radio into an
savings through numerous taken without interfering with the IP network but the same device can
benefits, including reduction radio protocols. Similarly, changes also interface to an NXDN radio.
in maintenance requirements, to radio protocols can be under-
including ease of upgrades and taken and tested without affecting SHARING OF POINT-TO-POINT
changes. Multiple users can share other console operations. Addition- PROTOCOLS
a single vocoder and point-to- ally, changes and upgrades can be Gateways allow radios with Point-
protocols, resulting in additional implemented using a sandbox ap- to-Point Protocols to be shared
cost benefits. proach and in stages. This signifi- amongst a number of operator
cantly reduces risk (especially when positions. A good example of a
a staged approach is adopted) as Point-to-Point protocol is P25 DFSI.
well as reducing maintenance time. The DFSI protocol is not designed
to be used by more than one con-
sole at a time. Without a gateway,
only one console would be able to
connect to a P25 DFSI base station.
Using a gateway allows the single
radio connection to be fanned out
to multiple consoles.

SINGLE VOCODER
Only ONE vocoder is required (and
located in the gateway) and shared
amongst a number of users. This
presents significant cost savings
when multiple users exist. If no
gateway existed, you would need to
pay for a vocoder on every operator
position.

Ultimately, maintenance
costs can be reduced. Coming up
Read Next:
CHOICE ENSURES
A COMPETITIVE Compatibility With Wider
ENVIRONMENT IT Network
As organizations
• Integrating donor radios
are no longer
• Overcoming networking
locked into
limitations
a particu-
lar radio

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White Paper
Optimizing Digital Radio Networks

COMPATIBILITY WITH WIDER IT NETWORKS


INTEGRATING DONOR RADIOS Fast-Track
For many applications, the most work through routers can be used AT A GLANCE
feasible way to access a digital ra- by third-party equipment such as
dio system is to use a donor mobile dispatch consoles or voice loggers.
radio. Most mobiles for this pur- Easily connect radios across
pose provide a combined digital In addition, gateways can offer alter- remote sites or wide geographical
and analog interface (for example native ways to communicate in an IT regions, i.e. to connect
USB or serial port and mic/speak- environment that may not be avail- countrywide radios to 1 central
er). Whilst this is a functionally via- able from the digital radio alone. control room. Gateways help
ble option, it’s difficult to connect integrate with third party
such radios across remote sites or An example is the ability use multi- equipment to streamline an
wide geographical regions. This is cast IP or conferencing depending organization’s IT landscape.
where a RoIP gateway provides the on the IT infrastructure of the orga-
best solution. The gateway does nization.
the hard work of interfacing to the
donor radio with whatever means
and protocols are re-
quired and then con-
verting this into RoIP.

Once converted to IP,

the radio becomes ac-
cessible within a wid-
er IT network. As an
example, a number of
MotoTRBO radios, in
different states, can be
controlled and mon-
itored from one cen-
tral location over IP.

OVERCOME
NETWORKING
LIMITATIONS
Many IT departments require partic-
ular network configurations to utilize
the wider IT environment and often
the networking choices for a base Coming up
station or node controller are limited. Read Next:
Radio side protocols are usually SIP
based and can be problematic to Summary
implement for many organizations. • Control & flexibility
By providing a translation of com- • Dispatch integration
munications between the radio side • Gateway options
protocol and the organization side,
protocols and mechanisms that are
Internet friendly and designed to

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White Paper
Optimizing Digital Radio Networks

Summary
 By combining digital radios with gateways, organizations can ac-
Fast-Track
quire more control and flexibility with their digital LMR systems.
AT A GLANCE This results in better interoperability, improved IT network compat-
ibility and greater performance. Costs savings can also be realized.
RoIP gateways solve the
conundrum presented by From a dispatch perspective, Omnitronics offers vendor independence.
NEW digital technologies and This independence is predicated on interconnecting to a range of radios,
offer vendor independence, as selected by end users. Digital radio gateways make this possible and
interoperability, more control, allow organizations to benefit by offering choice. CHOICE to combine
flexibility, and CHOICE at a different radio technologies, choice to migrate at their own pace, CHOICE
fraction of the cost. to structure their network to suit their operations, and the CHOICE to more
easily adapt to future demands.

For more information and to learn how digital radio gateways can help your
organizations specific requirements, contact the team at Omnitronics.

John Florenca, CEO

Chief Executive Officer & MD Company Overview

John Florenca About Omnitronics

John Florenca is CEO of Omnitronics is a world leader in the design, manu-
Omnitronics Australia and facture and supply of mission critical communica-
President of Omnitronics tion systems.
Incorporated in the USA.
Prior to his appoint- Specializing in Digital Radio Management, Dispatch,
ment as CEO in 2004, John Interoperability and Radio over IP, our products and
spent 10 years as Head of Engineering at solutions operate 24/7 in the control centres and ra-
Omnitronics where he was responsible for the plan- dio infrastructures of some of the world’s most vital
ning and implementation of radio dispatch systems, organizations.
interoperability and automation and remote control
products. John managed the company’s transition to Operating for over 30 years, Omnitronics has an
VoIP technology and remains actively involved in the international network of distributors and resellers
technical direction of the business. He is a graduate spanning the USA, UK, Europe, Australia and Asia.
of Curtin University and holds Degrees in Computer
Technology and Project Management.

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White Paper
Optimizing Digital Radio Networks

INTEROPERABILITY GATEWAYS
IPR400S2 619DSRI 619EI
A 2-in-1 analog interoperability The smart, flexible and dynamic Super simple and reliable.
and RoIP gateway software. interoperability gateway.

A full featured, fast and flexible A highly configurable gateway A gateway for more basic appli-
multi-channel VoIP radio inter- to interconnect multiple radios. cations, providing a simple solu-
face with RoIP gateway software. It Cross-banding, group configura- tion that is easy to install and
combines Voice over IP extensions tion, choice of CTCSS or tone sig- configure. Independent ports al-
for analog radio equipment and nalling and many more features. low the bridge to be configured in
interoperability between disparate any combination for greater flexi-
radio systems all in one. bility.
Read More Read More Read More

RoIP GATEWAYS
DRG100 DRG200i Tetra Gateway DM

DIGITAL
One box, many protocols. One box, many protocols, two Connect Omnitronics consoles into
channels. DAMM Tetra networks

The original Omnitronics Digital Designed to address the need for A gateway for more basic appli-
Radio Gateway uses proprietary accessing both channels on Tier II cations, providing a simple solu-
hardware and operating system (Conventional) digital radios such tion that is easy to install and
software to provide a secure, reli-as DMR, NXDN and dPMR. It will in- configure. Independent ports al-
able and flexible gateway between terface into controllers, repeaters low the bridge to be configured in
dispatch console IP networks and and base radios that support an IP any combination for greater flexi-
radio IP networks. console interface. bility.
Read More Read More Read More

IPR100 IPR110+ IPR400S2

ANALOG
Flexible RoIP gateway for analog Advanced RoIP gateway with more. A 2-in-1 analog interoperability
systems. and RoIP gateway software.

Designed to provide Voice over IP Combines VoIP & SIP technologies A full featured, fast and flexible
extensions for analog radio equip- to enable dynamic connections to multi-channel VoIP radio inter-
ment. Each device enables an an- remote radios making radio com- face with RoIP gateway software. It
alog two-way radio to be remotely munications more accessible and combines Voice over IP extensions
controlled over an IP link, either in easy to use. for analog radio equipment and
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a LAN or WAN environment. interoperability between disparate
radio systems all in one.
Read More Read More Read More
 Innovate.Connect. Unify.

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