Introduction
Qatar Airways is the national airline of Qatar and is headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the state capital. The airline operates a hub-and-spoke network from its base at Hamad International Airport, where it flies to over 150 international destinations across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania. The Qatar Airways Group has a fleet of more than 200 aircraft and employs more than 43,000 staff. Hytera won an open competitive tender to provide modern TETRA radio terminals to Qatar Airways. A great number of devices were adopted to fulfill the customer’s changing communication needs.
The Challenge
Qatar Airways staff were using old portable radios from other vendors, which no longer met the airline’s evolving communications needs identified in its business development plan. The number of existing terminals available for use was too small to meet the rapidly growing number of employees who needed access to two-way radios. The number of terminals had to be expanded to reach a capacity of approximately 3,000 devices within five years.
The Solution
The project to expand the radio fleet was subject to a public competitive tender process resulting in a five-year purchase agreement for a total of 3,000 new terminals. Qatar Airways already used a TETRA radio network managed by the local operator Ooredoo. The Ooredoo TETRA network was supplied by Hytera’s German subsidiary Hytera Mobilfunk GmbH, and the Hytera devices and infrastructure formed a one-stop complete solution. Hytera’s local after-sales service and technical support were advantages.
The chosen TETRA terminals are the Hytera PT580H Plus Mission Critical TETRA Portable Radio and the MT680 Plus Mission Critical TETRA Mobile Radios. The PT580H Plus is an extremely durable and robust radio with IP67-rated protection against dust and water ingress. It features an advanced audio chip with the latest noise-cancelling capability. Qatar Airways workers benefit from excellent audio quality despite the noisy airport environment they work in.
The PT580H Plus offers precise positioning with the integrated GPS function and provides a number of worker safety features including Lone Worker, Man Down, and emergency alarms. It supports various voice call types, including Private Calls, Group Calls, All Calls, and Emergency Calls.
The MT680 Plus mobile radio is ideal for vehicles or desktop use. It comes with the latest Hytera noise-canceling technology for loud and clear audio. It also offers IP67 protection, integrated GPS, and 3W high power to improve coverage across the airport.
The Results
Nearly 1,000 Hytera handsets have been delivered to Qatar Airways staff. The radios help the customer expand its radio capacity and extend the range of its communications. The new radios also improve the quality of communications by providing better audio and a wider range of applications.