Interesting development on 08/13 regarding a new Kenwood partnership and investment in Tait Radio – as covered by Radio Resource International – – – see URL here: https://www.rrmediagroup.com/Features/FeaturesDetails/FID/858
The LMR market world-wide has been rapidly consolidating over the past 5 years, with key milestones including:
- the 2014 acquisition of EF Johnson by JVC Kenwood
- the 2016 strategic North America partnership between Harris & Tait
- the 2017 Motorola acquisition of Airbus Communications P25 LMR business in North America
- and now this new 2018 partnership and investment by Kenwood in Tait
These developments appear to herald yet more LMR market consolidation ahead, as we move away from the generational wave of analog-digital conversions from the past decade, and into the brave new world of LMR-LTE convergence. In the short-term things appear to be heading towards a dual-polar world of LMR market leader Motorola Solutions vs. a “rest of the market” mash-up of Kenwood-Harris-Tait. And so a new era in the wars of the LMR superpowers begins!
Certainly interesting and exciting times in the LMR market ahead !
– Phil Crnko, M.A.Sc., P.Eng.