Press Release
Polaris Networks, a leading provider of 4G and 5G software, has been awarded financial assistance by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop a certification test suite to test MCPTT devices for conformance to MCPTT standards. This test suite will be used by the certification test houses around the world to formally certify the MCPTT devices for deployment in public safety networks.
As per the contract, Polaris shall develop and deliver a Mission Critical Voice Testing Equipment (MCVTE) package that can be used out of the box. This will include all the required software (platform, TTCN scripts, EPC etc.), as well as hardware (e.g., server, eNodeB etc.). The MCVTE will be built based on Polaris’ existing Mission Critical Test Platform (MCTP), which is based on ETSI standards. The Polaris MCVTE will run conformance tests against mission critical UEs or DUTs to verify compliance to MCPTT, MCVideo, and MCData (MCX) standards. Polaris will be collaborating with ETSI for developing the test specifications and corresponding test scripts.
The MCVTE solution will be delivered to NIST over a 24-month period in multiple phases. The first phase will include support for wi-fi connected devices, with later phases supporting 4G/5G connected devices. The first phase is expected to be demonstrated during the PSCR Public Safety Annual Broadband Stakeholder Meeting later this year. Speaking about the opportunity, Sudipto Biswas, MCVTE Product Manager and Principal Investigator (PI) at Polaris Networks, stated, “We are delighted to be chosen for this federal grant from NIST. We are looking forward to delivering the solution over the next two years.” “We expect our solution to enable speedier deployment of mission critical features in the National Public Safety Broadband Network and help the R&D community by standardizing the testing process,” he added.
The MCVTE Project is part of a competitive award from NIST, under which multiple organizations were awarded federal grants, totalling a budget of $12M. Polaris Networks is one of the recipients of the award. The MCVTE Solution shall benefit device manufacturers and enable certification test labs like PTCRB, to start testing public safety features in a more stringent way, and thereby support development of a standardized testing process.
