Motorola Solutions announced today that the United Kingdom (UK) Court of Appeal will hear its case to modify the charge-control ruling regarding the Airwave TETRA network. If successful, this appeal could result in over $1 billion in additional revenue for the Land Mobile Radio (LMR) leader by the end of the decade.

Motorola Solutions Chairman and CEO Greg Brown stated that the UK Court of Appeal hearing, scheduled for November 11-12, represents the company’s final opportunity to challenge the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ruling implemented last year. Previous appeals to the CMA and the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) were unsuccessful.

“What happens in the future? I don’t know,” Brown remarked during a conference call with financial analysts. “But I am pleased that the UK Court of Appeal will give this the appropriate audience and review, and we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Since August 1, 2023, Motorola Solutions has recognized its Airwave system revenue in accordance with the CMA ruling, which reduced contracted payments to Motorola by over 40% citing antitrust laws. Consequently, Motorola Solutions reduced its projected Airwave revenue by $777 million through December 31, 2026.

Initially, the LTE-based Emergency Services Network (ESN) was set to replace the Airwave TETRA system by December 2026, allowing the Airwave network to be retired. However, UK officials have since acknowledged that this timeline will not be met. Earlier this year, the UK Home Office extended the Airwave contract by three years to December 31, 2029. Motorola Solutions has recorded $748 million in additional potential revenue to reflect this extension.

Furthermore, the UK Home Office’s issuance of a “Deferred National Shutdown Notice” of the Airwave system is also under legal dispute. On April 11, 2024, Motorola Solutions filed proceedings in the UK High Court challenging the Deferred National Shutdown Notice, citing breaches of UK procurement and public law. The hearing is scheduled to commence on April 22, 2025.

“The backlog related to the incremental years of service contemplated in the Deferred National Shutdown Notice could change depending on the outcome of the proceedings,” according to the Motorola Solutions press release.

The ESN, originally intended to replace the Airwave TETRA system as the primary network for UK first responders in 2019, is now not expected to transition until the end of the decade, with no firm date provided. The UK Home Office has repeatedly extended the Airwave contract to ensure UK public-safety personnel have a mission-critical voice system for their response efforts.

For the transition to ESN to occur, it must support mission-critical push-to-talk communications like the current Airwave TETRA network. This functionality was initially to be provided by Motorola Solutions, but the company exited the ESN initiative, completing this process in December 2023. In March, a UK official indicated that the Home Office hopes to announce a new vendor for the ESN initiative this month.