Emergency Communications in the World

Professional Mobile Telecommunications Day 2008

According to the results of an independent research, in general, public safety services rate EDR system higher in all parameters than former analog technology
Availability of base stations exceeded contract requirements every month
Calls’ number increased almost two and a half times by the end of the year


Budapest, 3 April 2008 – The Public Safety Services Office of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office, T-Systems (Magyar Telekom Nyrt.’s Business Services), Pro-M Zrt. and TETRA Forum Hungary Egyesület have organized Professional Mobile Communications Day 2008 professional conference for the second time. On the event organized for the second anniversary of the unified digital radio telecommunication system (EDR – Egységes Digitális Rádió-távközlő rendszer) implementation in Budapest, Hungarian and International experts presented the operating experiences of the local system, and demonstrated further opportunities of emergency communication through international examples.

The main patron of the event was Péter Kiss, the Minister Leading the Prime Minister’s Office. The event was opened by Christopher Mattheisen, CEO of Magyar Telekom and doctor Ferenc Baja Dr., the Parliamentary State Secretary responsible for Administration IT at the Prime Minister’s Office.

“We have reached far in developing public safety services’ radio communication. Since the implementation of EDR system with TETRA technology two years ago, the network has been extended nationwide, as requested in government’s order. Now the system is able to provide continuous operation of the available services. Additionally, EDR provides a solid foundation for communication between user organizations,” said Béla Kozma, general manager of Pro-M Zrt.

József Draskóczi, ORFK, summarized network implementation experiences from the aspect of the users. TETRA users are using the network as intended, which means that as the result of the continuous transition and implementation, response services can work together even more efficiently in emergency situation.

User experiences
According to its EDR contract obligation and to become better acquainted with end-users’ real needs and experiences, Pro-M Zrt. conducted a customer satisfaction research at autumn, 2007. All respondents generally rate EDR system higher in all parameters than former analog technology. “Availability of base stations exceeded contract requirements in every month. Calls’ number increased almost two and a half times by the end of the year, and we are prepared to develop and provide state of the art services according to the needs of the users,” explained Béla Kozma in his presentation.

Emergency Communications in the World
Other goal of this year’s professional day was to provide insight into international TETRA results, as well as the opportunities of emergency communications strategy.
On the forum called “Emergency Communications in the World”, foreign TETRA system experts shared their experiences with the visitors, and presented case studies to demonstrate the importance of quick and secure communication in case of emergency to efficiently prevent damage. The Belgian and Finnish experience of many years and the numerous opportunities of using this technology was shared with the participants by Claude Jacquard, Chairman of Belgian TETRA Users Association, and Harri Virtanen, expert of the Finnish Erillis Verkot. Thanks to the presentations, users gained an idea about state-of-the-art emergency communication management and their future role in preparation. On the conference, other professionals also gave a presentation, including Phil Godfrey, Chairman of TETRA Association international global organization, who spoke about the TETRA technology standard and its standardization, and Jean-Marc Nasr, Chairman of EADS, who predicted the development trends of radio equipment and accessories.

The presentations of the conference are available at Morpho Communications. Please contact Mariann Miklósik by phone at +36 1 488 0255 or send an e-mail to miklosik.mariann@morpho.hu.


About Pro-M Zrt.
Professzionális Mobilrádió Zrt. (Pro-M. Zrt.) is a part of the Magyar Telekom Group. Pro-M Zrt.’s task is to implement the unified digital radio telecommunication system (EDR - Egységes Digitális Rádiótávközlő Rendszer) in Hungary — this activity mainly relies on Magyar Telekom’s, and its Mobile Services business line’s expert. The aim of the closed radio communication system providing remarkably high availability is to realize professional connection between the different emergency and public safety services, enabling to complete each task faster, more efficiently and safer. The EDR system is based on TETRA technology in Hungary. TETRA is the abbreviation of Terrestrial Trunked Radio, the name of a mobile communication system designed for professional use. It is a combination of group communication services, mobile telephony, paging and mobile data services, accessible from a single radio unit. The EDR system implemented by Pro-M Zrt. is planned to be used by Hungarian public safety services, including the Police, the Border Guards, the Fire Brigades, the Disaster Recovery Services, the Central Directorate for Water and Environment, the Ambulance Service, the Prison Service, the Army and National Security Services. The company’s CEO is Béla Kozma, the former head of Emitel Rt.

Press contact:
Rudolf Jekler

Morpho Communications
H-1112 Budapest, Cseresznye utca 60
Phone: +36 1 488 0255
Mobile: +36 20 967 5565
E-mail:jekler.rudolf@morpho.hu