IWF for LMR (APCO P25, TETRA, DMR, RoIP, Analog)
3GPP MCX InterWorking Function (IWF)
Etherstack understands PMR/LMR Protocols
For over two decades, Etherstack has licensed TETRA, APCO P25 and DMR protocol stacks as well as IP softswitching solutions to over twenty wireless equipment manufacturers globally. These include mobile and base station/repeater manufacturers, as well as console and digital voice recording vendors.
We have licensed all the building blocks from cryptographic implementations, vocoders and OTAR (over-the-air-rekeying) technologies including US NIST certified crypto modules, Key Management Facilities and sigint solutions.
The company contributes to standards development in both narrowband and broadband standardisation efforts.
As the world’s leading licensor of PMR/LMR protocols and LMR gateway technologies to other manufacturers, we were the obvious choice for solving the LMR-IWF task for the AT&T FirstNet network.
Transcoding & Transcrypting Functions
Etherstack’s LMR-IWF consists of three main components. The LMR interface side, the core InterWorking Function element and the MCPTT interface side.
Inside the IWF element, narrowband voice frames are decrypted using the selected talkgroup algorithm and keysets, then transcoded from PMR/LMR vocoders such as ACELP, IMBE and AMBE to 3GPP MCPTT AMR-WB, re-encrypted and passed to the MCPTT interface side to pass the media to the MCX switch for distribution. The process works similarly in reverse.
Etherstack has multiple security architectures available for the transcription function to satisfy the needs of different national security requirements, at the enterprise, carrier and government level. Get in touch with us and we will tell you how.
High Availability, Fault Tolerant
Etherstack has been building and deploying high availability fault tolerant PTT softswitching technology for over 15 years.
The Etherstack LMR-IWF can be deployed in carrier data centres and supports geo-redundancy. At the enterprise level, the LMR-IWF can be deployed on COTS telco grade platforms such as Dell servers in active/standby HA redundancy including geographically isolated disaster recovery nodes, or on clusters in an enterprise data center.
Always Innovating. Always Leading
Etherstack undertook the world’s first native APCO P25 calls over LTE at Bell Labs in New Jersey in March 2011 utilising the TIA ISSI network interface to link to an APCO P25 core network.
In 2012, at Old Street in London, Etherstack demonstrated the first PTT over Cellular calls with EE.
Fast forward a decade to today, and Etherstack are deploying the LMR-IWF element with global partner Samsung for AT&T’s FirstNet offering with AT&T’s network.