3-year TCO: LMR vs LTE PTToC for a 100-user fleet

Total cost of ownership varies by organization, fleet size, existing infrastructure and quoted pricing. Rather than a worked dollar model, use the worksheet below to collect comparable cost lines for each option under evaluation. Any assumptions you apply are illustrative only — they are not a quote and not an expected savings result.

Cost lines to collect for each option

• Devices: portables, mobiles, mounted mics, accessories, spares and refresh cycle.
• RF infrastructure: repeaters, towers, antennas, site work and engineering (LMR or hybrid options).
• Licensing: FCC coordination, licenses and renewals where applicable.
• Backhaul: circuits or links required between sites and infrastructure.
• Connectivity: cellular data plans or eSIM subscriptions per device.
• Platform subscriptions: PTToC user licenses, dispatch console seats, recording and reporting modules.
• Gateways: LMR-to-LTE bridging hardware and any donor radio required.
• Installation: vehicle installs, site installs, provisioning and configuration labor.
• Training: administrator and end-user training, documentation and change management.
• Maintenance: repairs, battery replacement, firmware and system upgrades.
• Support: vendor support tiers, internal support effort and spares management.

How to compare

Apply the same evaluation period (commonly three years) to every option, use your own device counts and quoted unit pricing, and note which cost lines are one-time versus recurring. Record any existing RF investment already amortized separately, since it changes the comparison materially. Where an option is hybrid, include both the retained LMR lines and the added LTE lines.

Outcomes depend on the deployment design, operating process and the pricing you are actually quoted. ip³Things can scope devices, connectivity and platform pricing for your requirement so the worksheet can be completed with real figures.