TCCA Announces Enhanced Testing Process for new Applications and Services over TETRA Networks
Increasing demand for and development of applications over TETRA secure voice and data networks has added a new benefit to the world-leading TETRA Interoperability Testing and Certification Process (IOP)
The TCCA has announced the introduction of a formal testing process for the TETRA Peripheral Equipment Interface (PEI) that will accelerate the introduction of new services over TETRA.
The TETRA IOP is the strict, independent and tightly controlled process developed and managed by the TCCA to ensure a truly open and interoperable multi-vendor market. This brings proven benefits to users such as choice of equipment and supplier, continuous development of new products, increased product functionality and improved price performance. For manufacturers, it eliminates different and incompatible implementations of the TETRA standard, and provides a formal compatibility test forum.
The rapidly expanding TETRA ecosystem has led to an increasing number of manufacturers and application developers looking for assured compatibility of peripheral equipment to deliver extended value on TETRA networks and terminals. The approval of TETRA PEI testing by the TCCA Technical Forum (TF) means that TETRA terminal manufacturers are now able to obtain an official IOP Certificate showing that their implementation of the PEI protocol stack is compliant to the ETSI TETRA PEI standard. This certificate will not only help the terminal manufacturers, but also the application developers, operators and users who have invested in TETRA.
“The IOP process has created a large global TETRA market place which in turn has driven up functionality and driven down prices. This latest addition to interoperability testing will further benefit both manufacturers and users,” said Phil Kidner, CEO of the TCCA.
Users can be confident that products awarded an IOP certificate have been rigorously tested for conformance, and that the functions listed in the certificate fully meet the TETRA standard. This allows users selecting equipment from a number of suppliers to reduce the amount of system integration and testing.
The Technical Forum (TF) provides a general forum for technical knowledge exchange. It develops and oversees the TETRA IOP and coordinates user and operator input with ETSI, which maintains the TETRA standard. All TETRA IOP testing is carried out by the independent testing house ISCOM. TCCA members can now request an IOP test session for testing the PEI. The testing can be done either in a dedicated PEI test session, or as part of another test session for the TETRA Air Interface or Direct Mode Interface. After each session, the testing house analyses the test results and issues a detailed official IOP Certificate. Test schedules and certificates are posted on www.tandcca.com.
About the TCCA
The TCCA represents TETRA, the most successful mission critical communications voice and narrowband data mobile standard in the world. Now available with TEDS supporting wideband data, we support the further development of the standard and promote its increasing adoption by professional users in a growing number of market sectors across all continents. For critical broadband data communications, we are driving the development of common global mobile standards. For more information please visit www.tandcca.com
