Breakthrough for Mission Critical Services Conformance Testing as First MCPTT Test Case Successfully Evaluated

The availability of fully interoperable standards-based critical broadband services has moved a step closer with the first pre-verification of a Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT) conformance test case. This development 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[1] networks, devices and services work: across vendors, operators and international borders.

The test case utilised a TTCN-3 tester from MCS-TaaSting and a Mission Critical Services (MCX) client from Nemergent Solutions. 3GPP's MCX over IP Test Model was used to successfully evaluate one of the most complex test cases[2] involving all the initial configuration, authorisation, authentication and registration steps as defined by 3GPP in Release 14.

3GPP has defined the MCPTT/MCData/MCVideo services ecosystem – known collectively as either MCS or MCX – and both the industry and end-users have been calling for clear certification programs that use standardised conformance testing tools. 3GPP’s RAN Working Group 5, which works on the specification of conformance testing at the radio interface for the user equipment, has defined the test cases to assess the mission critical-related functionality. Therefore, the foundations have been laid but the niche critical communications market and the weight of demands for 5G testing had to date prevented the availability of commercial MCS conformance testers. This successful pre-verification is the first time a TTCN-3 tester has been used to fully implement a MCPTT test case. TTCN-3 is an ETSI standardized testing language adopted by the broadband industry for implementing conformance test cases.

"This announcement is the result of the last nine months joint effort of a group of both MCS standards and protocol testing experts and MCS providers to carefully analyse and double check even the smallest detail in 3GPP standards and resulting TTCN-3 reference implementation,” said Dr. Fidel Liberal, MCS-TaaSting Project Co-ordinator. “The successful compilation and demonstration of the first test case based on the 3GPP TTCN-3 official delivery marks a significant milestone towards building a MCS certification program.”

The pre-verification of the initial test case together with several others expected to be completed by the end of the year means significant progress is being made in MCS certification activities. In addition, the approval of the IP connectivity access network (IP-CAN) model for MCS verification by 3GPP’s RAN WG5 will help to ensure a quicker time to market for MCS test equipment.