TCCA names new TETRA interoperability certification partner

TCCA has announced the appointment of DEKRA, described as the world’s largest independent, non-listed expert organisation in the field of standards-based testing, inspection and certification, as the new TETRA Certification Body that will oversee the interoperability (IOP) testing process and issue the certificates.

TCCA’s TETRA IOP process underpins the ongoing success of the TETRA standard, and the independence of the process ensures the ongoing strength of the market. DEKRA was chosen from a number of bidding companies after evaluation by TCCA and its TETRA manufacturer members, with several DEKRA offices around the world set to be involved in supporting the TETRA IOP process.

Test targets and priorities for the IOP process are set jointly between TETRA users, operators and manufacturers. For each feature to be certified, a TETRA Interoperability Profile (TIP) specification is created within TCCA’s Technical Forum Working Groups. Once approved in the Technical Forum, a detailed Interoperability Test Plan document is produced. The certification testing is based on these Test Plans.

With these official test documents, test sessions can be conducted between manufacturers’ infrastructure and devices at a host manufacturer premises. DEKRA will witness the testing sessions, analyse the results, and issue the detailed official Interoperability Certificates and Test Reports. These certificates are available to anyone looking to verify the interoperability of TETRA infrastructure and devices across multiple manufacturers and to inform purchasing decisions.

“DEKRA’s expertise in cellular communication technologies goes back to the times when GSM and TETRA were developed more than 35 years ago,” said Thomas Jäger, Senior Vice President, Global Connectivity and ITS Technologies at DEKRA. “Since these days, our teams have been part of all further standardisation activities, including conformance, interoperability and functional testing.

“TETRA has been important for public safety in Europe, and colleagues working at DEKRA had been even involved in supporting the large-scale deployment in Germany from 2009 onwards. Safety is part of our DNA and we are delighted to be the partner of TCCA.”

TCCA has offered its thanks to DGTCSI-ISCTI (The General Directorate for Communications Technology and Information Security – Higher Institute for Communications and Information Technology), a division of the Government of Italy, which has provided TETRA IOP Certification services for TCCA and the TETRA manufacturers for more than 20 years.

“It is clear that TETRA will remain as the world-leading digital trunking solution for many years, and therefore the need for ongoing IOP testing and certification, especially as the TETRA standard, continues to be enhanced,” said TCCA CEO Kevin Graham. “We are pleased to have DEKRA, an expert global organisation, continue these important independent certification services.”

Image caption: TCCA CEO Kevin Graham and Thomas Jäger, Senior Vice President, Global Connectivity and ITS Technologies at DEKRA, sign the new contract.