Motorola Solutions announces first public-safety portable radio with LTE connectivity

Motorola Solutions will sell the APX 7000L as a standalone product, but customers with existing APX 7000 portables can upgrade those devices to include the LTE functionality—a process that likely can be done in less than a week and will probably will cost in the “high hundreds” of dollars to complete, depending on the configuration of the existing APX 7000, Petersen said.

“One of the things we’ve mentioned in past trade shows is the flexibility and almost future-proof [nature] of this product, because it has the ability to put different types of option modules in behind the front speaker,” he said. “This is one of those option modules, which is an LTE modem that will give enhanced data capability to coincide with the mission-critical voice that this product offers.

“If you’ve invested in APX 7000s and combination 700/800 [MHz]/VHF radio, you can send your radio in to one of our authorized depots and get that radio upgraded. So, you build on the investment you’ve already made—there is upgrade capability for the radios you already have in the field.”