Design Considerations in a Modern Land Mobile Radio System

Abstract

Modern Land Mobile Radio has the potential for large growth in the near future. Current regulations have set the stage for a required transition to more spectrally efficient technologies. While several organizations are working to ease this transition, there still remain many details and feature sets which the end user must decide amongst and often there is no clear dividing line between these choices.

This thesis provides a high-level view of the distinguishing components in modern LMR systems. Discussions related to trunked channel allocation, coverage, costs, security, and other capabilities are given. The application to and effect on everyday users is also considered. Several quantitative examples are provided to assist the end-user in determining when a solution is viable. The discussion and analysis included reaffirm that LMR design is complex and wide-ranging. Ultimately, the designer must evaluate needs and technologies to provide a course of action which is optimum and justifiable.