Mission Critical & Public Safety Equipment Testing

Mission Critical communications provide essential voice, data and video services for organisations such as police, fire and rescue, and ambulance services, commonly known as Blue Light services, as well as other public safety users.

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Mission critical communications

Mission Critical

Overview

Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT), Mission Critical Data (MCDATA) and Mission Critical Video (MCVIDEO), collectively referred to as Mission Critical Services (MCX), are standardised by 3GPP and continue to be enhanced through successive 3GPP releases. These services are designed to operate over broadband networks, including LTE and 5G.

For first responders and other mission-critical users, reliable communication is essential. Devices therefore need to demonstrate not only compliance with the relevant standards, but also reliable operation and interoperability with the networks and services on which they will be deployed.

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Why test Mission Critical Services in the field?

Laboratory and conformance testing provide an important means of verifying compliance with 3GPP standards. However, live network testing provides an additional level of validation by assessing how the device operates within a real network environment, where network and radio conditions can fluctuate over time.

Field testing can verify the interaction between the MCX client/device, network and server infrastructure under live network conditions, including mobility scenarios where radio conditions are actively changing. This helps identify interoperability and service issues that may not be apparent during controlled laboratory testing and provides greater confidence before deployment.

IoTAS are a GCF Recognised Test Organisation (RTO) specialising in field testing and have extensive experience in Mission Critical Services testing and test case development.

Mission Critical & Public Safety Equipment Testing

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Mission Critical

GCF-TCCA Mission Critical Services Programme

The GCF and TCCA established a joint programme to develop a Mission Critical certification framework that could provide a standardised approach across networks for 3GPP-based Mission Critical products and services.

In 2024, GCF launched its formal certification framework for Mission Critical Broadband services, initially focusing on Release 14 MCPTT conformance scenarios. The programme continues to evolve as additional Mission Critical Services and test requirements are developed.

As the GCF continues to develop the certification framework for Mission Critical Services, additional test requirements will be introduced into the programme. The GCF aims to establish a comprehensive framework covering Conformance Testing, Interoperability Testing, Field Trial Testing and Performance Testing for Mission Critical Services.

IoTAS have been actively involved with the GCF and TCCA Mission Critical Services programme since its initial development, contributing our field-testing expertise to the development and validation of Mission Critical test cases.

As a field-testing specialist, IoTAS have helped assess whether MCX test scenarios can be practically executed on live networks and what evidence can be obtained during testing.

This includes understanding:

What can be observed and validated through device MMI
What can be verified through device and network trace logs
Which test requirements require additional network or server-side evidence
How test scenarios can be executed reliably under live-network conditions

This practical experience helps ensure that Mission Critical field-test cases are not only technically aligned with the relevant standards, but are also practical, repeatable and measurable on live networks.

In addition, this involvement and level of expertise has enabled IoTAS to become recognised as a GCF Assessment Capable Entity (ACE) for Mission Critical Services.

As a GCF ACE, IoTAS can support manufacturers developing Mission Critical platforms or clients, as well as manufacturers embedding Mission Critical solutions into their products, by helping them identify the applicable requirements and criteria needed to achieve GCF certification.

Mission Critical

Mission Critical Field Testing

IoTAS have extensive experience in Mission Critical Services (MCS) testing, supported by our involvement in the development and validation of GCF Mission Critical test cases.

In 2026, IoTAS led a GCF verification project for MCPTT Field Trial test cases, executing the scenarios defined in GSMA TS.11 Annex N. This work demonstrated the practical execution of MCPTT Field Trials on live Mission Critical networks, providing insight and understanding of what could be achieved when testing on a live network.

This hands-on experience has given IoTAS a detailed understanding of how Mission Critical test scenarios can be executed and validated in real network environments, including the evidence required from device MMI, protocol and trace logs, and network or server-side systems.

Our experience in validating and executing Mission Critical test cases has supported the extension of our UKAS ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation scope to include Mission Critical Services (MCX) testing, enabling IoTAS to provide accredited testing within our approved scope.

IoTAS can perform Mission Critical Services testing against the applicable GSMA TS.11 Annex N Detailed Test Procedures for Mission Critical Services, with testing covering MCPTT and MCDATA scenarios as applicable to the relevant certification or customer requirements.

Mission Critical Performance Testing

IoTAS have extensive experience testing Mission Critical Services Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), including the development of automation scripts to streamline elements of the testing and analysis process.

Our current Mission Critical performance testing is based on 3GPP TS 22.179, with an initial focus on MCPTT Access Time. IoTAS have supported projects across Europe, conducting KPI testing across multiple products and deployment configurations with varying performance characteristics.

Testing can include analysis of device and server logs to measure Access Time for different MCPTT call scenarios, including Group, Emergency and Private calls. Where further investigation is required, access to relevant server or system logs can help identify the potential root cause of performance issues.

As MCPTT involves multiple interfaces and systems, some aspects of KPI analysis require detailed manual log analysis. IoTAS can combine this analysis with automation where appropriate to improve the efficiency and repeatability of the testing process.

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Mission Critical

Emergency Services Network (ESN)

The Emergency Services Network or ESN is a new critical communications system designed for the British police, fire and rescue, and ambulance services. Its strategic aim is to provide greatly improved voice and data services and replace the ageing Airwave system.

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Mission Critical

Emergency Call Testing

In an emergency one of the first things you would do is to call the Emergency Services for help, and we rely upon our phones to enable that call. In emergency scenarios your phone must be able to make a connection with the appropriate services either on your home network or on other networks, even without a SIM card on certain networks.

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