T-Mobile US announced the launch of its Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT) offering.
In a release, the U.S. telco said that the T-Mobile MCPTT service is integrated with the Motorola Solutions’ Critical Connect service to make it easier for agencies and businesses to get redundancy and end-to-end encryption with secure messaging, emergency alerts, ambient listening and role-based management.
“T-Mobile MCPTT is designed for the needs of first responders and other workers in the field. While it is purpose-built for rugged devices, it is also available as an app for smartphones and tablets,” the carrier said.
The telco noted that administrators will need only a few hours to create hundreds of user profiles with necessary permissions and give access to key talkgroups.
Also, the always-on wireless priority service (WPS) feature provides priority connection for push-to-talk and data traffic nationwide on the T-Mobile network. “This provides priority access and preemption for eligible companies and first responder agencies when networks are temporarily overloaded or impaired,” the carrier said.
“T-Mobile MCPTT interoperates with land mobile radio (LMR) systems, extending push-to-talk capabilities to users without radios or that travel outside LMR coverage areas. Agencies and businesses can leverage the T-Mobile cellular network through industry-standard connections such as Radio over IP (RoIP) gateway, the Inter-RF Subsystem Interface (ISSI) or Console Subsystem Interface (CSSI),” T-Mobile US said.
The new offering also offers video streaming as well as data services like location-sharing in the field so first responders or employees can give real-time updates on key activities, it added.
T-Mobile noted that its new MCPTT offering will be commercially available in April.
Earlier this month, T-Mobile US said it was adding new capacity to its 5G network by activating the 2.5 GHz spectrum it won in auction 108, expanding its Ultra Capacity 5G coverage to new communities. T-Mobile invested $304 million in the FCC’s Auction 108 back in 2022, securing 7,000 county-based licenses covering more than 80 million people.
T-Mobile US previously announced tests of millimeter-wave spectrum in its 5G Standalone production network, saying that it has been able to hit download speeds of 4.3 Gbps.
Those downlink speeds were achieved with aggregation of eight channels of mmWave spectrum, the carrier said. It also tested mmWave spectrum aggregation of four channels in the uplink, and reported that speeds exceeded 420 Mbps.
The tests, conducted in partnership with Ericsson and Qualcomm, were done without anchoring low- or mid-band spectrum, the carrier noted. T-Mobile said that it is testing 5G SA mmWave for densely crowded areas like stadiums and large venues, as well as “potentially” for Fixed Wireless Access broadband services.
T-Mobile’s 5G network covers more than 330 million people across two million square miles. Meanwhile, 300 million people nationwide are covered by T-Mobile’s Ultra Capacity 5G.
Source: https://www.rcrwireless.com/20240401/5g/t-mobile-us-launches-mission-critical-ptt-service