FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 21, 2008

Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) Revises Project 25 Testing Standard for Trunked Radio Equipment

Interoperability Testing Methodology Defined to Meet Need for Secure Voice Communications for First Responders, Public Safety Officials

Arlington, VA – The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), the leader in advocacy, standards development, business development and intelligence for the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, has published TIA-102.CABC-A, Project 25 Interoperability Testing for Voice Operations in Trunked Systems.

To meet the need of public safety, public service, and first responders for secure voice communications, TIA-102.CABC-A defines methodology for testing the interoperability of subscribers’ and fixed network equipment (FNE) in a trunked systems environment designed to the complementing documents that comprise the Project 25 suite of standards.

TIA-102.CABC-A defines functional procedures for testing the interoperability in trunked voice operation between different manufacturers, different models of the same manufacturer, and different firmware versions, including:

 

• Full registration
• Group voice call
• Unit-to-unit voice call
• Broadcast voice call
• Affiliation
• Announcement group call
• Emergency alarm
• Emergency group call
• Emergency unit-to-unit call
• Encryption
• Intra-system roaming

Trunked radio systems enable public safety agencies, such as fire and police departments and other municipal services, to maximize the available capacity of two-way radio communication by enabling a group of subscribers to share spectrum efficiently.

Project 25 is an interoperability suite of standards for digital two-way wireless communications products and systems. TIA, in collaboration with prominent public safety organizations, generates standards, specifications and telecommunications systems bulletins that define the equipment and processes necessary for implementation of digital public safety radio communications under the APCO/NASTD/FED Project 25 standard. APCO/NASTD/FED is composed of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO); the National Association of State Telecommunications Directors (NASTD); and Federal Government Agencies (FED).

TIA-102.CABC-A was formulated under the cognizance of TIA Engineering Committee TR-8 Mobile and Personal Private Radio Standards TR-8.25 Subcommittee on

Compliance Assessment.  TIA-102.CABC-A was drafted by the APCO Project 25 Interface Committee (APIC, an adhoc subcommittee of the TIA Private Radio Section) Compliance Assessment Processes and Procedures Task Group (CAPPTG – membership comprised of manufacturers and users).

 TIA-102.CABC-A is the current normative reference and basis for trunked voice interoperability testing in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Project 25 Compliance Assessment Bulletin (CAB), Baseline Testing Requirements, July 2008, as part of the Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program.  The Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program (P25 CAP) is a voluntary program that allows P25 equipment suppliers to formally demonstrate their products’ compliance with a select group of requirements within the suite of P25 standards. The purpose of the program is to provide emergency response agencies with evidence that the communications equipment they are purchasing meet P25 standards for performance, conformance, and interoperability.  For more information on the P25 CAP visit http://www.safecomprogram.gov/SAFECOM/currentprojects/project25cap/.

To obtain copies of the document, contact IHS International at +1 800.854.7179 (United States and Canada); +1.303.397.7796 (international) or visit http://global.ihs.com.

For technical information, please contact Ronda Coulter: rcoulter@tiaonline.org.  For media inquiries, please contact Mike Snyder: msnyder@tiaonline.org.

TR-8 member companies: Aeroflex, Agilent Technologies, Inc., Alcatel-Lucent, APCO Project 25, Aselsan Inc., AT&T, Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Cisco Systems, Inc., City of Mesa, Communications Div., CML Microcircuits (USA) Inc., CommScope Network Solutions, CSI Telecommunications, Daniels Electronics Ltd., Datron World Comm. Division, Dietrich Lockard Group, Inc., Digital Voice Systems, Inc., E.F. Johnson, EADS Public Safety Inc., Ericsson, Inc., Etherstack, FBI, General Dynamics C4 Systems, Harris Corporation, Icom America Inc., Industry Canada, Institute for Telecommunication Sciences?, IPC Positron, Kenwood USA Corp., Communication, Lockheed Martin Corporation, M/A-Com, Inc., Maz-Sky Canadian International G, Microtronix Systems Ltd., MITRE Corp., Motorola, National Technical Systems (NTS), NIST-OLES (Office of Law Enforcement Standards), Nokia Inc., Nortel Networks, Oregon State Police/SAFECOM, RELM Wireless Corp., RTKL Associates Inc., SAIC, Sigma Delta Communications, Inc., Sony Wireless Tech Division, Space Data Corporation, Tait Radio Communications, Technisonic Industries Ltd., Telchemy, Incorporated, Texas Instruments, Inc., Thales Communications, Inc., TranSwitch Corporation, TX RX Systems, Inc., Tyco Electronics, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Vertex Standard, Widevine Technologies, Inc., Zetron, Inc.

About TIA

Currently in its 84th year, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry through standards development, advocacy, business opportunities, market intelligence and world-wide environmental regulatory analysis. Thousands of companies and individuals work through TIA to enhance the business environment for telecommunications, broadband, mobile wireless, information technology, networks, cable, satellite, unified communications, emergency communications and the greening of technology. TIA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Visit www.tiaonline.org for details.

TIA’s Board of Directors includes senior-level executives from ACS, ADC, ADTRAN, Alcatel-Lucent, ANDA Networks, ArrayComm, AttivaCorp, Avaya, Bechtel Communications, Inc., Cam Communications, Cisco Systems, Corning Incorporated, Ericsson, Inc., Graybar, Henkels & McCoy, Intel Corporation, LGE, Microsoft, Motorola, Nortel, OneChip Photonics Inc., Panasonic Computer Solutions Co., Qualcomm, Research In Motion, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave Corporation, Tellabs, Tyco Electronics, Ulticom, Inc., Verari Systems, Westell Technologies, Inc. and Zebra Technologies Corporation. Advisors to the Board include FAL Associates, ILS Technology, Orca Systems and Telcordia Technologies.

TIA membership enhances the ability of companies to prepare for the future of communications.  TIA brings people and businesses together by helping the industry overcome technical and political barriers to communications. Visit www.tiaonline.org for details.

 

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