Wifi Revolution

According to the Global Certification Forum (GCF) and the International Multimedia Telecommunications Consortium (IMTC), any new 3G mobile phones supporting R99 CS (circuit-switched) video telephony must now pass interoperability and conformance test developed by IMTC as part of the GCF certification process.

GCF-certified handsets provide assurance to both operators and manufacturers. This indicates seamless interoperability at both bearer and application enabler levels on GSM, GPRS and W-CDMA networks worldwide.

IMTC was asked by GCF in 2005 to adapt its existing test specifications and develop new specifications for 3G phones that support video telephony to include in the GCF certification program. In 2006, the new tests were approved and added to the GCF certification process. This allowed the test industry to validate test implementations and offer them to the wider industry.

According to Anatoli Levine, president of the IMTC, GCF and IMTC members include handset manufacturers, operators and testing tool, gateway and application developers. The collaboration of the members contributes in shortening the time to market and testing costs when they work together with agreed upon testing criteria.

Levine said that the current testing tools were developed by IMTC members companies and IMTC members have early and regular access to IMTC tests, including these new GCF-specified tests.

Dr. Adriana Nugter, chairwoman of the GCF believes these IMTC test cases further their mission to certify terminals against current global market standards. Nugter said that the organized and systematic IMTC interoperability tests were developed for GCF criteria, and will help to certify handsets that will deliver high-quality interoperability assurance to operators.

“IMTC test events enable developers and manufacturers to test their products with many of the same companies they'll go live with after GCF certification,” explained Levine in a press release.

“Benefits from cooperative test experiences are tangible, shortening time to market, helping to meet operator certification requirements and reducing product development costs,” he concluded.

The IMTC is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and facilitate the development and use of interoperable, real-time, multimedia telecommunication products and services based on open international standards.

The GCF is an authority whose certification program assures the global interoperability of terminals and networks. Its membership is a unique partnership of over 270 companies comprising handset manufacturers, operators and related test industry organizations.

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Anuradha Shukla is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering call centers, CRM and information technology. To see more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

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