What about the use of Radio Frequencies at CERN?
Further to the decision of the CERN Executive Board, the use of any radio communication devices in both surface and underground CERN areas must be approved by the IT/CS group, in charge of the radio frequency planning for the whole lab. For any questions, please submit a request via the Service Desk (77777) or via this web page by clicking on Submit a general request in the SERVICE HELP frame.
What about the VHF network?
The VHF network is not used anymore at CERN. No new requests are accepted.
What about the UHF network?
The UHF network is not used anymore at CERN. No new requests are accepted.
What about indoor Geo-localisation?
The feature is included in all TETRA terminals allowing to geo-localise them indoors where both TETRA network is available and Indoor Localisation beacons are deployed. The specific chip is integrated into the handset at the original position dedicated for bluetooth, thus no bluetooth accessory can be used with a CERN TETRA handset.
Below is a photo of a beacon:
By default, a person's position is not shown. It is only the fire brigade and potentially your central control room that can locate a terminal but only in case of incident (emergency call, lone worker protection, etc.).
Indoor geo-localisation has been deployed in many underground locations but is not operational yet.
PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE ANY BEACON. IN CASE YOU FIND A BEACON WHICH IS NOT FIXED, PLEASE REPORT AN INCIDENT BY CALLING THE SERVICE DESK 7777 AND GIVE THE BEACON NUMBER READABLE ON THE BEACON (here 4209). THANKS.
What about outdoor Geo-localisation?
A GPS feature is included in all TETRA terminals allowing to geo-localise them outdoors. By default, a person's position is not shown. It is only the fire brigade and potentially your central control room that can locate a terminal but only in case of incident (emergency call, lone worker protection, etc.).
What is the lone worker protection?
All TETRA handheld terminals are equipped with a system detecting loss of verticality or strong shocks. This system alerts automatically the fire brigade call centre when activated.
How to report a problem?
Should you have any problem with :
- a TETRA terminal or accessories, please bring the broken TETRA terminal or accessories to the Telecom Services
- specifying what is the problem:
Telecom Services
Opening hours: from Monday to Friday, 8:30 - 12:30 and 13:30 - 17:30
Site: Building 600/R-010 (Telecom Lab)
Telephone: 77777 (Service Desk)
E-mail : telecom.services@cern.ch
- coverage, features, etc., please:
- during working hours : report an incident to the Service Desk by calling 77777 or by clicking on Report an incident in the SERVICE HELP frame on the web page TETRA Radio Communication Service specifying the following information:
- Who to contact
- Date and time of the incident
- Impacted service: handset or coverage problem / voice / SDS / status messages / geolocalisation
- Quantity of impacted devices
- Name and identifier of the impacted devices (the identifier is sticked at the back of the handset and it is displayed at the top left corner of the screen)
- The incident details
- Localisation of the incident: surface / underground, building number
- outside working hours or in case of Technical EMERGENCY: call directly CC operator at 75011 or +41227675011.
How to get a TETRA terminal?
Please first fill up the Word file named "TETRA QUESTIONNAIRE" available on the web page TETRA Radio Communication Service in the RELATED DOCUMENTS frame and read the "TETRA terminal acceptance agreement" document available at the same location.
Then send a request by clicking on Submit a general request in the SERVICE HELP frame on the web page TETRA Radio Communication Service mentioning in the subject "TETRA + summary of your request". Please attach to the request the filled up file "TETRA QUESTIONNAIRE".
What are the types of available terminals?
There are three types of terminals:
- The SEPURA STP8000: is a handheld terminal to be used by standard users.
- The SEPURA SRG3900: is a radio terminal that can be mounted in vehicles or placed on a desk for a team coordinator.
- The SEPURA STP8x: is a handheld terminal specially designed to operate safely in potentially explosive areas (ATEX). It is a very expensive device, targeted to the fire brigade or services linked to gas maintenance.
These terminals can be equipped with many accessories like remote microphone, headsets, belt clip, etc.
STP8x ATEX
STP8000
SRG3900
You can find the datasheets on the web page TETRA Radio Communication Service in the RELATED DOCUMENTS frame.
What is the indoor radio coverage?
The TETRA network is available in all tunnels (PS/Booster, Linacs, SPS, LHC, injection tunnels) and all experiments (LHC's Experiments, AD, ISOLDE, North Area).
If you find a place where there is no TETRA radio coverage and you think it is worth to have it, please report it by opening a request to the service desk (77777) or by clicking on Submit a request in the SERVICE HELP frame on the web page TETRA Radio Communication Service.
There is not yet a map of indoor coverage but it is planned to have it available in GIS for end of 2016.
What is the outdoor radio coverage?
Basically, the TETRA network covers the whole “pays de Gex”, from the Saint-Julien hospital to Versoix, Gex, Thoiry, and more. All roads to reach the LHC sites from Meyrin or Prevessin are fully covered. All CERN sites (LHC, SPS in particular) are fully covered. You may check below the radio coverage map for more details.
If you find a place where there is no TETRA radio coverage but there should be according to the map, please report it by opening a ticket to the Service Desk (77777) or by clicking on Report an incident in the SERVICE HELP frame on the web page TETRA Radio Communication Service.
What is the support level?
The TETRA network is monitored 24/7 all year and is associated with a piquet service. The technician on duty has one hour to take into account an incident and two hours to fix it.
What is the reliability of the TETRA network?
The CERN TETRA network was designed to be fully redundant. It is also entirely operated by CERN, so interventions and maintenance works are controlled and scheduled by CERN. The network is monitored 24/7 all year.
What is an SDS or status message?
It is the possibility to send short text messages between TETRA terminals. It is very similar to SMS messages in the GSM technology. So, using the dial pad of the terminal you can write a message (SDS messages) or send a pre-registered one (status messages).
Is it suitable for DATA transfer?
No, TETRA technology was not designed for high IP data exchange. The maximum bandwidth that can be reached is 19.2 Kbps. Nevertheless, it is quite convenient for transmitting short messages, called SDS (Short Data Service).
Is it better than mobile telephony (GSM or UMTS)?
It is not intended to replace the mobile telephony services with the TETRA network. They are two different technologies made for two different purposes. Public mobiles services are designed for large scale point-to-point communications but not for critical communications. GSM is not a safety system. On the other hand, the TETRA technology was developed for grouped communications (typically in a team), targeted to specific operational needs and designed for safety activities.
What is the TETRA network capacity for voice?
The CERN TETRA network is dimensioned today for up to 500 terminals and 21 simultaneous group communications. Thanks to the TETRA features, it is possible to grant top priority to emergency calls, so that even in case of incident fire brigade communications are not in compromised. Should it be required to increase the voice capacity, the technology used at CERN can easily scale up to our needs. There are already in the world many TETRA networks operating with several thousands of terminals. It is just a question of price at the end.
What are the main benefits of the TETRA services?
A TETRA terminal allows to easily communicate within a group. It is like the well-known walky-talky but designed for professional use and for safety services. It is also possible to place individual calls (not recommended as it is resources consuming). It is possible to send short messages, called SDS (Short Data Service) to a specific terminal or a group. There is a contact directory to easily find a person in a group. A terminal can belong to several talk-groups (dynamic or static). TETRA terminals are GPS enabled, but your position is disclosed only in case of an incident. Each handheld terminal is equipped with a lone worker feature that automatically alert the fire brigade in case of shock or loss of verticality. There is also an emergency button to alert the fire brigade if needed.
What is TETRA?
TETRA stands for TErrestrial Trunked RAdio. Is it a European standard that was published in 1994 by the E.T.S.I (European Telecommunication Standards Institute). It is a digital radio communication technology designed to be highly robust. TETRA is used today by many national safety organisations (fire brigades, police, etc.) and private companies whose activities are performed in a challenging communication environment (Airports, Refineries, etc.). As it is digital, there are many features to enable and control communications.
