{"id":145,"date":"2020-04-02T12:45:10","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T10:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcstaasting.com\/?p=145"},"modified":"2020-04-02T12:48:09","modified_gmt":"2020-04-02T10:48:09","slug":"mcs-taasting-accelerating-the-adoption-of-certified-mission-critical-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcstaasting.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/02\/mcs-taasting-accelerating-the-adoption-of-certified-mission-critical-services\/","title":{"rendered":"MCS-TaaSting – Accelerating the Adoption of Certified Mission Critical Services"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mission Critical Testing as a\nService project is developing flexible testing tools <\/strong>to<\/strong>increase market confidence in critical broadband applications<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursday 02 April 2020:<\/em> <\/em>A critical new initiative is under way to\naccelerate the development and adoption of mission critical services (MCS)\nincluding Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT), Mission Critical Data (MCData)\nand Mission Critical Video (MCVideo) for critical broadband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project, entitled MCS-TaaSting<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Mission Critical Testing as a\nService \u2013<\/strong><\/em> aims to develop <\/em>an <\/em>MCS IP-based test engine that\nwill be available via both a cloud service and LTE hardware for the conformance\ntesting of mission critical applications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Institute of Standards and\nTechnology\u2019s<\/a> (NIST) Public\nSafety Communications Research<\/a> (PSCR)\ndivision has granted more\nthan $6 million to the Mission Critical Voice Test Equipment (PSIAP-MCVTE) initiative.\nThe largest share of the grant, more than $3.5 million, was awarded to the\nNetworking, Quality and Security (NQaS) research group, part of the University of the Basque Country<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team is led by Dr. Fidel Liberal, a well-recognized expert\nworking in different mission critical communications and 5G related R&D\nprojects including Mission\nCritical Open Platform<\/a> (MCOP). He has also served as\ntechnical expert in all four ETSI MCX Plugtests\u2122. Liberal\u2019s team at the\nUniversity of the Basque Country is supported by leading organisations in critical\ncommunications; industry associations and testing experts including ENENSYS\nTechnologies<\/a>, GridGears<\/a>, Nemergent\nSolutions<\/a>, PSTA<\/a>, Sonim<\/a>, TCCA<\/a> and Texas A&M University<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lack of certification programs for critical broadband has\nallowed the misuse of the MCPTT\/MCData\/MCVideo terms* with vendors making\nambiguous claims such as \u20183GPP aligned\u2019, \u2018MCPTT\nready\/capable\/forward-compatible\u2019 and so on, thus jeopardising customer\nconfidence,\u201d said Liberal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo address these issues, the main objective of the\nMCS-TaaSting project is to develop flexible testing tools for 3GPP\u2019s MCS\nstandards and associated certification procedures based on complete and\naccurate RAN5 Technical Specifications and TTCN3<\/a> code suite and tester. This will drive the market\nforward and benefit the entire mission critical broadband communications\necosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In traditional mobile phone testing environments, the device\nunder test is typically bundled in the final product (the whole protocol stack\nfrom physical LTE hardware, baseband modem firmware and mobile operating system\nto application, such as VoLTE). Therefore, it is usually assembled and\ncertified by a single vendor. This approach cannot be directly applied to MCS\ntesting since most of the times the user equipment (UE) vendor is not the same\nas the MCS client provider. Mission critical customers require the MCS provider\nto be capable of deploying to clients directly, on top of different UEs, with\nminimal integration effort \u2013 to increase competition and innovation and to\navoid vendor lock-in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The innovative MCS-TaaSting approach aims to fulfil the specific\nneeds of the mission critical and public safety community. MCS-TaaSting will enable\ncost-efficient frequent testing, re-testing, certification and re-certification\nof the myriad and increasing combinations of devices, operating systems,\nmiddlewares and applications. As a result, it will make it possible for the\nincreasingly heterogeneous industry to prove the 3GPP standard-compliance of\ntheir implementations, and will reassure users and operators that they are buying\ncertified and interoperable products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The testing processes will be aligned with existing\ncertifications processes for consumer and PMR equipment from organizations such\nas the GCF<\/a> (Global Certification Forum), PTCRB<\/a> and TCCA<\/a>, which developed and manages\nthe world-leading TETRA Interoperability Certification process (IOP<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For further information please visit www.mcstaasting.com<\/a> and NIST PSCR<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*collectively known as MCS or MCX<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meet the team<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Project leader:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Networking, Quality and Security (NQaS<\/a>) research group, is part of the University of the Basque Country<\/a> (UPV\/EHU), a teaching and research\ninstitution officially founded in 1980. The University employs over 7.500\npeople in 31 faculties and schools, with more than 57.000 undergraduate and\npostgraduate students. The NQaS research team has long experience in managing\ninternational R&D projects, specially on Mission Critical and 5G networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support team<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ENENSYS Technologies<\/a> is a\nglobal designer and manufacturer of innovative professional solutions for the Broadcast and Telecom industry. For 15\nyears, ENENSYS Technologies has enabled Efficient Media Delivery over Terrestrial (ATSC 3.0, DVB-T\/T2, ISDB-T\/Tb,\nHbbTV\u2026), Satellite (DVB-S\/S2\/S2X) & Telecom Networks (4G\/5G, Public Safety,  IPTV, OTT, ), and\nprovides Test & Monitoring equipment with the TestTree brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GridGears<\/a> was founded in 2017 with the\ngoal of contributing to Public Safety standards, including Mission Critical\nServices and Next Generation standards such as NG112 and NG-911. The company\nfully recognizes the necessity and benefits of standard based solutions and\ntheir validation in order to establish highly efficient, interconnected and\ninteroperable services in Public Safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nemergent\nSolutions SL<\/a> has significant expertise in designing and deploying novel\nPublic Safety solutions over mobile broadband technologies, with an agile\ndevelopment team with vast experience in broadband technologies. Nemergent\u2019s\nportfolio includes a complete and fully standard MCS ecosystem. The server-side\ncomponents are designed as VNFs, fostering flexible deployments. The\ninnovation-driven nature of the company promotes the establishment of research\nlinks with different UE, IMS and telco equipment leading companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Public Safety Technology\nAlliance (PSTA),<\/a> comprised of\ntelecommunications industry, public safety, and technology leaders,\nis a nonprofit coalition with a mission to accelerate the conformance of\ntechnology that is both open and standards compliant to ensure public safety\nhas a safe, secure and interoperable framework for the next generation of\ncommunications tools by guiding the implementation and testing of technical\nspecifications requirements for applications, handsets, connected devices,\ncloud applications and storage that will be used by the first responder\ncommunity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sonim Technologies<\/a> is a leading U.S. provider\nof ultra-rugged mobility solutions designed specifically for task workers in\nmission-critical roles and specialized in workforce-critical communication and\nconnectivity tools for industrial enterprises and public sector agencies\nincluding construction, energy and utility, hospitality, logistics,\nmanufacturing, public safety and transportation. Sonim solutions comprise (1)\nultra-rugged mobile devices, (2) industrial-grade accessories and (3)\ncloud-based software and application services. The company based in US, offers\nits solutions through the world\u2019s leading mobile carriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TCCA<\/a> established and continues to manage the world-leading\ninteroperability testing process (IOP) for TETRA terminals and infrastructure. Currently\ncelebrating 25 years of advancing critical communications, TCCA has evolved to\ndrive the development of common global standards and certification for the\ncritical broadband ecosystem while continuing to maintain and enhance the TETRA\nstandard. TCCA owns and produces the annual Critical Communications World<\/a> event, taking place this\nyear from 3-5 November in Madrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Texas A&M University<\/a> Internet2 Technology\nEvaluation Center (ITEC<\/a>) is one of the leading\npublic safety interoperability facilities in the world.  The Center hosts a complete set of public\nsafety systems including NG 9-1-1, public safety broadband (FirstNet), P25 and\napplications such as situation awareness, computer aided dispatch, video\nsurveillance and others.  Texas A&M\nUniversity System received $8 million in 2019 to develop a 5G testbed which\nwill support public safety, defense and transportation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For further information, please contact info@mcstaasting.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mission Critical Testing as a Service project is developing flexible testing tools toincrease market confidence in critical broadband applications Thursday 02 April 2020: A critical new initiative is under way to accelerate the development and adoption of mission critical services (MCS) including Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT), Mission Critical Data (MCData) and Mission Critical Video (MCVideo)…
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