What is the DMR Association?

The DMR Association is a global organisation focused on helping to make DMR the most widely supported 21st century digital radio standard for the business world.

Through a combination of interoperability testing, certification, education, and awareness the Association is working to ensure that business buyers of today's digital radio technology gain ongoing value through the competition and choice derived from an open, multi-vendor value chain.

Created by founding members of the DMR MOU Association (which focused on helping establish the DMR standard), this new organisation is open to manufacturers, end users, regulators, standards organisations, test houses and others with an interest in promoting and driving DMR innovation and adoption worldwide.

Who are the founding members of the DMR Association?

The DMR Association includes members representing a broad cross-section of the industry, including some of the world’s leading device and network suppliers.
Founding members include: CML Microcircuits, Funkwerk Koelleda, Fylde Micro, Icom, Kenwood, Motorola, SELEX Communications (a Finmeccaninca Company), Tait Radio Communications and Vertex Standard.

What are the aims or mission of the DMR Association?

The purpose of the DMR Association is to help grow the DMR market by removing barriers to interoperability and supporting innovation and adoption of the standard via the creation of new devices and services. Association members plan to accomplish this by:
• Creating an interoperability testing and certification program
• Working with regulators to develop a favourable environment for DMR networks to flourish
• Increasing awareness about the DMR standard through education, promotion and discussion

What are the key benefits of the DMR Association to different audiences?

Our focus is on encouraging interoperability and adoption of the DMR standard. As such, we believe all businesses within the digital radio service value chain — including manufacturers, networks and applications providers — will benefit from the broader, more open playing field, increased supply and hopefully more innovative solutions created as a result. From an end-user perspective, companies around the world in industries ranging from retail to manufacturing to utilities will benefit from the increased choice and competitive (often lower) costs associated with an interoperable market.

How can a company join the DMR Association?

Any company, organisation or individual interested in joining should contact the DMR Association through the “contact us” section

Does the DMR Association work on standards? Is it a standards body?

No. The DMR Association is not a standards body. But we do have a technical working group that focuses on reviewing issues related to the DMR standard and making recommendations regarding its future iterations.

What is the relationship of the DMR Association to ETSI and other standards bodies, groups, and associations?

The DMR Association will be working with a variety of standards bodies and technical organisations to create awareness for, and adoption of, DMR. We plan to have a strong relationship with ETSI, in particular, as that organisation is responsible for the creation of the DMR standard and many members of the DMR Association were part of the process.

What about the DMR MOU Group – is the DMR Association taking over that organisation?

The DMR Association is the successor to the DMR MOU Group. The DMR MOU Group was created to support the initial development of the DMR standard. Now there is a need for an organisation to help take DMR to the next level by focusing on interoperability, certification and awareness to drive adoption. That’s why the DMR Association was created by the original members of the DMR MOU Group.

Why has it taken so long to launch the DMR Association – wasn’t the standard completed in 2005?

The DMR standard was completed in 2005 but, as with any new standard or technology, it has taken a few years for vendors to begin to develop products based on the standard. Now that we have a more mature marketplace and more vendors developing DMR solutions, it seemed a perfect time to launch an Association focused specifically on certifying those products, helping make them interoperable, and promoting the standard they’re based on.

What is DMR?

DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) is a globally-available, open, digital radio standard for Professional Mobile Radio (PMR) users. It was developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) as a replacement for analogue PMR and is ideally suited for serving industrial and professional/business-critical markets. The technology delivers improved range, higher data rates, more efficient use of spectrum, and improved battery life for devices. Today, DMR systems are in operation in over 100 countries around the world.

Why switch from analogue to digital?

Although analogue technology still offers some great benefits – low total cost of ownership, customizable coverage and features and simple/reliable implementation – it has reached its peak. Among its chief limitations are battery life, voice quality (near the edge) and integrated data applications. In addition, analogue radio users are facing spectrum limitations resulting in crowding and interference.

DMR helps alleviate some of these issues by providing increased capacity and spectral efficiency resulting in clear, unbroken, reliable communications. End benefits include improved productivity, cost savings and increased customer satisfaction.

How much increased capacity and spectral efficiency can DMR deliver?

DMR delivers double the channel capacity on existing frequencies by enabling two virtual channels within a single 12.5 kHz licensed repeater channel. This provides twice the calling capacity and enables more information to be transmitted on existing frequencies. And because there’s only one “real channel”, a second call doesn’t require a second repeater.

On which technology is DMR based and why?

DMR is based on Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) technology. TDMA preserves the full channel width, but divides it into alternating time slots that can each carry an individual call. In the majority of cases, two-slot 12.5kHz TDMA-based systems, providing 6.25kHz equivalency, is the better choice for large organisation/enterprise radio users than alternative Frequency-Division Multiple-Access (FDMA) based systems. FDMA splits the channel frequency itself into two smaller sub-channels that can carry separate calls side-by-side.

Is DMR compatible or does it compete with dPMR, P25, TETRA and other radio technologies and standards?

Although DMR, TETRA, P25, and MPT-1327 are all based on open standards, they are also based on different protocols and targeted at different markets (e.g., TETRA and P25 are largely used by public safety organisations) and are not technically compatibile. Another standard created by ETSI, dPMR, is considered a competitor to DMR in the business market, but as of today, products built to the standard are targeted at the low power, unlicensed part of the specification, best suited for personal use, recreation, small retail and other settings that do not require wide area coverage or advanced features. Moving forward, we hope to see more and more systems work in conjunction with DMR, where it makes market/business sense.

Can DMR accommodate advanced applications?

Yes, DMR can accommodate a wide range of advanced applications for business including GPS/Location-based services, text dispatch, workforce management, and telemetry.