In this episode, we delve into the Global Certification Forum's (GCF) recent launch of the Mission Critical Services (MCS) certification program. Specifically, we learn a little more about its certification program and how it differs with other testing alternatives, what different stakeholders need to do regarding Mission Critical Push-to-Talk certification, whether you are a customer or end-user, a vendor, or even involved in the regulatory side of the space.

We are joined by Dr. Fidel Liberal, a well-recognized expert in Mission Critical communications. He works as professor yin the University of the Basque Country where he leads different mission critical communications and 5G related R&D projects. Among others, he is the coordinator of the Mission Critical Open Platform (MCOP) and leads the MCS TaaSting project, aimed at providing flexible testing as a service mechanisms for MCS certification. As a result of his intense advocacy activity in Mission Critical communications, he is involved with most relevant stakeholders in the sector including TCCA, NIST/PSCR, EENA, PSCE, and standardization and certification bodies such as ITU-T, 3GPP, ETSI and GCF.

My key takeaways from this episode:

• Certification Importance and Impact: The certification is a significant advancement for the mission-critical industry, promoting a healthier, more open, and interoperable ecosystem. It represents a major step in establishing standards-based solutions and compliance with 3GPP standards, ensuring that mission-critical solutions are reliable and meet high-quality standards.
• Certification Process Overview: The process set by GCF for certification involves technical evaluations using a specific testing platform and adherence to a harmonized set of test cases accepted by the industry. This ensures that MCS clients and devices comply with the required standards and that the certification is recognized industry-wide.
• Stakeholder Responsibilities: Different stakeholders, including vendors, customers, and regulatory bodies, have specific roles in adopting and implementing the certification standards. Vendors must ensure their products are certified, while customers should verify that vendors have the necessary certifications when making purchasing decisions.
• Industry Adoption and Future Plans: The certification is the first step toward broader compliance and standardization in mission-critical services, with future plans to include additional components like MC data and MC video. The ongoing development aims to enhance interoperability and compliance across the industry, ultimately supporting a multi-vendor ecosystem.

Want to learn more about how to get your product certified? Check out the upcoming GCF MCX Certification Programme Overview webinar on July 9th 14:00 - 15:00 BST.
iRegister here: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/ae800e0d-7f33-4064-8f11-3cd1a650ca61@ebb485f7-c7f5-4d73-b3ca-f8b6328be0e5



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