News
Major MCPTT landmark reached
The first pre-verification of a Mission
Critical Push-to-Talk conformance test
case has been achieved.
According to a statement issued by TCCA,
the aforementioned test case utilised a TTCN-3
tester from MCS-TaaSting, in conjunction with
a mission critical services (MCX/MCS) client
provided by Nemergent Solutions.
Successful evaluation was achieved of
all the initial configuration, authorisation,
authentication and registration steps, as defined
by 3GPP in Release 14. This took place through
the use of the latter organisation’s MCX over IP
test model.
Speaking of the evaluation, a spokesperson for
TCCA said: “This is critical to the development
of truly global mission-critical broadband
systems that will enable first responders to
communicate seamlessly in the same way that
3G/4G/5G-based networks, devices and services
work. That is across vendors, operators and
international borders.
“Both the industry and end-users have been
calling for clear certification programmes that
use standardised conformance testing tools.
The foundations have been laid via the 3GPP
RAN Working Group 5. However, the niche
TCCA news
Despite COVID-19 and its attendant
lockdown, it has been a busy summer
and autumn for TCCA. The association
has welcomed a raft of new members
over that time, while also hosting several
webinars – the Critical Updates series –
focusing on a range of issues concerning
the sector.
The most recent company to join the
organisation is digital transformation
specialist Atos, which announced its
decision in late September. The head
of its critical communications solutions
division, Bernard Payer, said: “We are
excited to be part of TCCA, and to benefit
from our involvement in standardisation
and harmonisation. We are currently
focused on the development of new 5G
and MCX solutions.
“Atos wants to show its commitment
to the critical communications markets,
share its expertise and learn from others.
critical communications market - and the
weight of demands for 5G testing - had to date
prevented the availability of commercial MCS
conformance testers.”
Dr Fidel Liberal, MCS-TaaSting project coordinator,
said: “This announcement is the result
of the last nine months’ joint effort. This has
involved a group of both MCS standards and
protocol testing experts, and MCS providers.
They have carefully analysed and double checked
even the smallest detail in 3GPP standards, and
resulting TTCN-3 reference implementation.
“The successful compilation and
demonstration of the first test case based on
the 3GPP TTCN-3 official delivery marks a
significant milestone towards building an MCS
certification programme.”
The above news signifies that considerable
progress is being made in the realm of MCS
certification. Several other test cases are also
expected to be completed by the end of the year.
At the same time - according to TCCA
- a quicker route to market for MCS test
equipment will be achieved by the approval of
the IP connectivity access network (IP-CAN)
model for MCS verification, by 3GPP’s RAN
Working Group 5. Dr Fidel Liberal
Our ambition is to better serve our
customers through open standards and
best practice.”
TCCA chief executive Tony Gray said:
“As the critical communications world
moves toward a broadband future,
the industry is undergoing a significant
transformation. The cloud, cybersecurity
and big data are three key areas
driving this change. We are very
pleased to welcome the Atos team to
TCCA, and look forward to learning from
their expertise.”
Other organisations which have joined
the association in recent months include
Finnish field management and navigation
expert Codea, as well as Czech operator
Nordic Telecom.
Regarding the Critical Updates series,
topics so far have included the MCX
ETSI Plugtests, testing as a service, as
well as the future of TETRA “to 2035 and
beyond”. More recently, the webinars
have focused on the impact of COVID-19
on the critical communications industry,
the state of European critical broadband,
and the interworking of mission-critical
broadband and legacy systems.
Discussing the webinars, TCCA’s
Gray said: “There is so much tireless
effort being put into our industry to the
benefit of all society, and now more
than ever it is important that the largely
‘behind the scenes’ work is recognised
and promoted.
“These projects are all underpinned
by the co-operation of many individuals
and organisations united in the goal of
enhancing critical communications.”
Turn to the back of this issue of CCT
to read a report on the recent TCCA/
BAPCO-hosted webinar, focusing on
English fire and rescue services’ readiness
for the Emergency Services Network.
October 2020 @CritCommsToday 11