TCCA News
GCF and TCCA address missioncritical
certification
The Global Certification Forum
(GCF) and TCCA are joining forces
to address the need for a formal
interoperability testing and certification
process that ensures end-users are provided
with a seamless, vendor-neutral service.
A joint taskforce will move certification
forward for mission-critical push-to-talk
(MCPTT), mission-critical data (MCData)
and mission-critical video (MCVideo)
implementations.
The taskforce, open to members from both
GCF and TCCA, currently has support from
the following organisations: Airbus, Alea,
Anritsu, Dekra, DSB, du, Ericsson, German
Federal Agency for Public Safety Digital
Radio (BDBOS), ETSI, French Gendarmerie,
Frequentis, Huawei, Hytera, IoTAS, Keysight,
Leonardo, Motorola Solutions, MultiTech,
Nemergent Solutions, Orange, Police
Netherlands, Pro-M, Samsung, SmartViser,
Sprint, Suomen Erillisverkot, Swissphone,
Telecom Italia, UK Home Office, Umlaut,
University of the Basque Country, and Zetron.
Without an agreed interoperability testing
and certification system in place, each
mission-critical service provider must test all
relevant elements and their interactions. This
means tests are repeated at multiple locations,
creating unnecessary costs for suppliers,
operators and users alike. The missioncritical
broadband certification process will
be an evolution of both TCCA’s TETRA
Interoperability and Certification Process
(IOP) and GCF’s certification for 2G, 3G,
4G and 5G devices.
Lars Nielsen, CEO at GCF (pictured top
right), commented: “Today’s news confirms
the importance of mission-critical devices,
networks and services as part of GCF’s overall
certification programme. A device that
meets all certification requirements for the
technology bands and features it supports
gives confidence that everything possible has
been done by the manufacturer to guarantee
delivery of the highest quality of service
for users. This is of paramount importance
within the realms of public safety and we
look forward to rolling out the testing and
certification specifics with TCCA during the
coming year.”
Tony Gray, chief executive at TCCA
(pictured bottom right), added: “GCF’s
experience and knowledge of the mobile
industry, and TCCA’s long-established
expertise in critical communications, bring
complementary strengths together. We look
forward to working with GCF to lead the
development and implementation of testing
and certification processes for the benefit
of the mission-critical broadband user
community worldwide.”
The initial actions of the taskforce will be
completed during the first half of 2020.
TCCA and 450A aim for cohesive critical communications
In a further drive towards greater cohesion
within the critical communications
ecosystem, TCCA and 450MHz Alliance
(450A) have signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) to formalise the cooperation
between the two organisations.
This will enable greater synergy around
supporting and promoting the development
and deployment of standardised technology,
solutions and applications for critical mobile
broadband communications.
As 3GPP’s Market Representation Partner
for critical communications, TCCA catalysed
and continues to drive the development
of critical technology standards. With a
worldwide membership, TCCA’s work is
complementary to that of 450A, which
represents the interests of 450MHz spectrum
stakeholders. Members have interests in
M2M/IoT for vertical markets such as smart
grids and metering, as well as associated
VoIP and broadband applications for sectors
with comparable network design needs.
“450MHz Alliance is excited to partner
with TCCA, recognising the synergy
between the two organisations,” said Gösta
Kallner, executive chairman of 450A. “We
share many common objectives, including
promotion of robust solutions for missioncritical
communications such as smart
energy, smart cities, transportation, etc.
This MoU will allow for closer collaboration,
sharing information, joint standardisation
activities and thus be more productive to our
combined members mostly representing an
industrial IoT community.”
Tony Gray, chief executive of TCCA,
added: “In addition to our key market of
mission-critical public safety, our work on
standardisation is relevant to many sectors
with critical users, including smart cities,
smart grids and the wider applications of the
IoT. In some of these areas there is already
available spectrum in 450MHz, and others
are actively seeking it. TCCA and 450MHz
Alliance have a number of members in
common, so collaboration for the benefit of
all is an obvious step forward.”
January 2020 @CritCommsToday 9