Public-safety LTE market ‘nascent’ and ‘additive’ to Motorola Solutions, CEO Brown says

When asked if that means that Motorola Solutions would take market share from carrier networks, Brown said “we would expect to take some” of the money being spent by public-safety entities to access carrier LTE networks.

During his statements about the public-safety LTE market, Brown did not indicate whether he classifies FirstNet as a “public” carrier network or a private offering.

Brown distinguished public-safety LTE opportunities between those with dedicated spectrum—the case in the U.S. and 28 other countries—and those without dedicated airwaves for public-safety LTE. The UK is an example of the latter situation, as Motorola Solutions will provide software and service solutions for public-safety traffic that will ride on the network and spectrum owned by carrier EE.

In noting the small percentage of countries with dedicated spectrum for public-safety LTE initiatives, Brown described the public-safety LTE market as “nascent,” with Motorola is expected to realize $130 million in revenue this year and a similar amount in 2017 from public-safety LTE, despite the fact that it has won the world’s four largest public-safety LTE contracts awarded thus far. By comparison, Motorola LMR business will generate $6 billion this year, he said.

Brown expressed optimism about the overall health of Motorola Solutions and its future outlook, noting its large cash reserves, significant market-share leadership in the LMR arena, strong brand equity and distribution channels. As LMR network become more complex, about 40% of Motorola Solutions’ revenue is generated through services contracts that tend to foster greater customer loyalty, he said.