The 750th TETRA interoperability  test certificate has been issued by the TETRA + Critical Communications Association (TCCA) test and certification body, marking the 15th year of the process that has driven the global adoption of the TETRA standard. Each certificate issued is for a specific infrastructure-radio terminal combination. There are currently some three million TETRA terminals in use worldwide.

The TETRA Interoperability (IOP) Certification Process is the most rigorous of its kind in the critical communications world. It is a strict, independent and tightly controlled testing programme, developed to ensure a truly open and competitive multi-vendor market.

Phil Kidner, chief executive officer of the TCCA, said: “There is no doubt that the TETRA IOP has been a critical enabler for the highly successful multi-vendor TETRA market. Although other PMR technologies have followed the TETRA lead and instigated their own interoperability testing programmes, none is as comprehensive as the TETRA IOP.”

The TETRA IOP process is managed by the Technical Forum, a TCCA Working Group, and is conducted by the independent testing house Istituto Superiore delle Comunicazioni e delle Tecnologie dell’Informazione (ISCOM), an organization of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development.

ISCOM IOP manager Daniele Biondini said: “All testing is based on ETSI standards. For each feature, a TETRA Interoperability Profile (TIP) specification is created, together with an Interoperability Test Plan, a highly detailed document that ensures that the tests are repeatable and identical in all test sessions.”

Although IOP testing is a voluntary process, its value is such that all 20 manufacturers of TETRA terminals and infrastructure participate in the programme. Customers can see all the certificates on the TCCA website for reassurance that the devices are proven to work on and across all TETRA networks.