Hytera (; previously HYT; ) is a Chinese publicly-traded and partly

state-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...

manufacturer of radio transceivers and radio systems founded in

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

in 1993. Hytera is listed on the

Shenzhen Stock Exchange The Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE; ) is a stock exchange based in the city of Shenzhen, in the People's Republic of China. It is one of three stock exchanges operating independently in Mainland China, the others being the Beijing Stock Excha ...

and is partly owned by Shenzhen Investment Holdings of Shenzhen's municipal government. Hytera is major contributor to the

PDT Standard PDT (short for ''Professional Digital Trunking'' or ''Police Digital Trunking'') is an open industry standard for trunked radio system in China servicing police wireless communications and professional mobile radio. The standard is being maintained ...

, which is designed for public safety organizations in China. The company is a major supplier to China's Ministry of Public Security.

Locations and subsidiaries

The company's head office is in Shenzhen, China. Hytera's products are developed at three development sites in total. One of the development sites is located in Bad Münder, Germany. In March 2012 Hytera acquired the German company Rohde & Schwarz Professional Mobile Radio GmbH from the German electronics group

Rohde & Schwarz Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co KG (, ) is an international electronics group specializing in the fields of electronic test equipment, broadcast & media, cybersecurity, radiomonitoring and radiolocation, and radiocommunication. The company provides ...

, which is now known as Hytera Mobilfunk. In addition, there are Hytera subsidiaries in the US, UK, Canada, and Spain.

United States

In June 2007, Hytera acquired Marketronics Corporation, now known as Hytera America, Inc., located in Miramar,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. In 2019, Hytera and several other Chinese-based companies, including

Huawei Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology corporation headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It designs, develops, produces and sells telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics and various smar ...

, were placed on a ban list of the 2019

National Defense Authorization Act The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is the name for each of a series of United States federal laws specifying the annual budget and expenditures of the U.S. Department of Defense. The first NDAA was passed in 1961. The U.S. Congress o ...

(NDAA) to not do any business with U.S. federal agencies due to national security and

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

concerns. On May 27, 2020, Hytera America and Hytera America (West) filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

bankruptcy citing ongoing lawsuits brought by Motorola Solutions and the impact of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On January 12th 2021, Hytera US Inc., a new subsidiary of Hytera's in the U.S., set up following the court procedures, officially began to operate its business. In March 2021, the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC) declared that Hytera video surveillance and telecommunications services and equipment "pose an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security.” In November 2022, the FCC banned sales or import of equipment made by Hytera for national security reasons.

Germany

The German company BICK Mobilfunk GmbH was founded as an engineering firm in 1980 and was absorbed by Rohde & Schwarz as early as in 1988. The company put into service the first TETRA system in Germany. The enterprise primarily deals with the development and implementation of trunked radio systems according to the TETRA standard. In 2011 TETRA division was sold to Hytera Communications Co. Ltd.

Legal disputes with Motorola

The company is the defendant, as well as the plaintiff, in ongoing intellectual property litigation with

Motorola Solutions Motorola Solutions, Inc., is an American video equipment, telecommunications equipment, software, systems and services provider that succeeded Motorola, Inc., following the spinoff of the mobile phone division into Motorola Mobility in 2011. The ...

. Hytera is also a plaintiff of an antitrust lawsuit against Motorola Solutions. In February 2022, Hytera was criminally indicted in

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in case citations, N.D. Ill.) is the federal trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois. Appeals from the Northern District of Illinois ar ...

under charges of technology theft.

References

External links

* {{Official website Manufacturing companies based in Shenzhen Chinese companies established in 1993 Electronics companies established in 1993 Chinese brands Telecommunication equipment companies of China Telecommunications equipment vendors Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020 Companies listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Government-owned companies of China