Empowering First Responders in Australia: Samsung Completes Country’s First Demonstration of Mission Critical Push-to-Talk Solutions

This trial is the country’s first in involving MCPTX and interworking capabilities, and Samsung is showcasing its cross-regional efforts with Etherstack plc on a leading Australian mobile operator’s network.

For this Australia’s first MCPTX trial, Samsung is providing its 3GPP standard-compliant MCPTX solutions – MCX Core and MCX Client Application. These advanced MCX solutions are designed to leverage the proven technologies like 4G, 5G and Mission Critical Services to deliver robust and secure voice, video and data exchange capabilities even under challenging network conditions.

Australian first responder agencies face unique challenges when it comes to reliable and efficient communications. The country's vast and diverse landscape, ranging from densely populated cities to remote rural areas, requires a robust and reliable communication system that operates effectively in any environment. In addition, Australia faces a variety of natural disasters such as bushfires, floods and cyclones, which intensify the need for advanced connectivity during critical situations.

Australia’s current public safety communication systems provide a mature and trusted voice capability, but often encounter challenges with coverage, audio quality, interoperability between different agencies and support for critical data including images, video and location information. Broadband Mission Critical solutions help overcome these challenges, and by significantly augmenting communication capabilities, improve outcomes during emergencies. 

To advance the national critical communications capability, the Australian Government has formed a Public Safety Mobile Broadband (PSMB) Taskforce in late 2023. Samsung is a supporter of this national commitment, and has powered an ongoing trial of its Mission Critical Push-to-X (MCPTX) solution to help Australia with its efforts.
 
This trial is the country’s first in involving MCPTX and interworking capabilities, and Samsung is showcasing its cross-regional efforts with Etherstack plc on a leading Australian mobile operator’s network. The collaboration underscores the capabilities of Samsung's industry-leading MCPTX in enhancing emergency responses, streamlining communication among first responders and ultimately keeping communities safer.

Earlier this month, the companies kicked off the demonstrations as a part of the trial with a showcase of various MCX features, including Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MC-PTT), MC Push-to-Video, MC Push-to -Data, location services and Land Mobile Radio Interworking Function (LMR-IWF). These advanced functionalities provide means of reliable, seamless and secure communication for public safety agencies, first responders and mission-critical operations across different industries.

For this Australia’s first MCPTX trial, Samsung is providing its 3GPP standard-compliant MCPTX solutions – MCX Core and MCX Client Application. These advanced MCX solutions are designed to leverage the proven technologies like 4G, 5G and Mission Critical Services to deliver robust and secure voice, video and data exchange capabilities even under challenging network conditions. Samsung is deploying Etherstack's LMR-IWF in the trial, enabling seamless integration between the advanced MCPTX network and traditional LMR systems and allowing the users to communicate effortlessly.

"It’s great to have another carrier deployment of our IWF technology with Samsung in Australia," said David Deacon, CEO at Etherstack. "This deployment demonstrates that standards-based interworking between traditional digital radio networks and next gen 5G networks is feasible and mature enough to deploy in real world scenarios. We are thrilled to be working with Samsung in supporting technology advances for public safety agencies in Australia."

Samsung’s MCPTX supports interoperability with existing systems and allows a seamless transition from traditional technologies, meaning that organizations can leverage the benefits of MCX without completely overhauling their current setup, saving both time and resources. Through enabling a smooth migration to MCX, Samsung helps organizations future-proof their communication capabilities while minimizing disruption to their operations, by keeping the end user experience front and center. Even beyond public safety, MCX has significant potential for other industries that rely on mission-critical communications, such as utilities, mining and transportation, where reliable and secure communication is of utmost importance.

Samsung has long been at the forefront of commercial MCX rollouts globally. The company played a crucial role in deploying the world's first 3GPP-compliant nationwide public safety network in South Korea, showcasing its expertise in implementing large-scale, reliable and secure communication systems. In the United States, Samsung has partnered with the largest national operator to help build America's first-ever nationwide MCPTT solution, a dedicated broadband platform for first responders, further demonstrating its commitment to advancing public safety communications. These successful deployments have positioned Samsung as a trusted partner for organizations seeking to upgrade their mission-critical communication capabilities.

Looking ahead, the future of mission-critical communications is set to shift again with 5G. Enhanced mobile broadband capabilities and ultra-low latency will bring new levels of performance and new capabilities through MCX, enabling novel applications and use cases that are bound to transform public safety and emergency management. Samsung is working closely with standards bodies to pave the way for 5G adoption in mission-critical services in the coming years, ensuring that its MCPTX solutions remain at the forefront of innovation.