General system architecture of TETRA network for public safety services

In the ten years since TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio) standard from ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) has been available on the worldwide market, it has become the leading PMR (Private/Professional Mobile Radio) technology of choice especially in networks for public safety. Since it was first standardized the system evolved in various directions, both in application and technology point of view. This paper gives an overview of general TETRA system arhitectures available on the market today. It also gives an in depth analisys of a specific IP based TETRA system core elements and their function in the overall communication process.