Motorola Solutions, the successor company to pre-smartphone era mobile giant Motorola, has acquired TETRA Ireland Communications Ltd, the provider of Ireland's national digital radio service.

Tetra provides secure communications, including voice and data land mobile radio communications, to the Gardai and other emergency services, state utilities and volunteer organisations.

The network is based on Motorola's digital radio technology.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Motorola reportedly exercised its pre-emption right to acquire Eir's 56% and Sigma Networks' 25% stakes in TETRA, scuppering a deal Eir had in place to sell its share to London-listed investment trust Digital 9.

"Delivering, managing and operating critical LMR networks is foundational to what we do,” said Greg Brown, chairman and CEO of Motorola Solutions.

In Association with

“As a trusted technology partner in Ireland for over 40 years, we look forward to continuing to provide the interoperable mission-critical communications that Ireland's emergency and public service agencies rely on every day.”

Motorola said in a statement that deal demonstrated its commitment to growing its worldwide managed and support services businesses. The company owns and operates networks and security operations centres around the world and across industries such as public safety, mining, oil and gas and public transformation.

The National Digital Radio Service is the secure digital mobile radio network developed using TETRA technology assist security, fire, safety, health, government, and public service agencies.

Tetra's customer base is made up of public bodies, comprising around 70 agencies with some 24,000 active subscribers.

In addition to the Gardai, Tetra also serves the DAA, the National Parks & Wildlife Service, the Irish Coast Guard, the Irish Prison Service, Mountain Rescue Ireland, OSCE, the Revenue, Gas Networks Ireland, BT, the Civil Defence, Eir, EirGrid, ESB, EPA, OPW, Irish Water, and a number of councils and departments.

The network has 98% land mass coverage, and it also provides communications coverage for mountainous and remote regions as well as to aircraft across the islands of Ireland and up to 20km offshore.

(Pic: TETRA Ireland)