Our fourth NG112 Emergency Communications Plugtests™ event was held virtually on 22 February – 5 March 2021, in partnership with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). This time, it was intercontinental.
In a nutshell
Next Generation emergency communications are changing the way we handle emergencies, making it possible for emergency services to receive more and different types of data. But for NG technology to be effective, it needs to be standardised and interoperable.
The NG112 Plugtests provide the unique opportunity for all stakeholders to trial the components along the full chain of NG112 emergency response. Through different scenarios and tests cases, the interoperability and conformity of market solutions were examined and validated. Components were trialled independently and jointly, involving all the different areas of NG communications.Testing included the interoperability between Next Generation eCall and NG112.
This time, it was intercontinental
This year, our event ran in collaboration with the ninth Industry Collaboration Event (ICE 9), organised by NENA: The 9-1-1 Association.
This first intercontinental interoperability testing event for NG112 and NG 9-1-1 emergency calling involved testing end-to-end call flows that span international boundaries. In an emergency, people (or even smart objects) may make an emergency call from outside the country of the incident or communications may be transferred from one ESInet to another. The intercontinental element of the event will make an important contribution to ensuring compatibility between technology in Europe and the USA.
This year, the event was entirely virtual.
Benefits of joining the NG112 plugtests
- On-site and remote test sessions on emergency communication equipment.
- Unique opportunity for vendors of emergency communication equipment to test their product against different scenarios and in an intercontinental context.
- Vendors can assess the interoperability of their implementations and verify the correct interpretation of related specifications.
- Testing campaign based on the use cases developed by ETSI and EENA
Who participateD?
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EENA, ETSI and NENA invited all interested vendors that have a stake in improving global access to emergency services to participate in this first intercontinental interoperability testing event. The stakeholders included Next Generation Core Services vendors, Forest Guide developers, mobile app providers, telecommunication operators, and PSAP technology vendors.
An observers’ programme was also organised to give emergency services and public authorities the opportunity to discuss with participants about the implementation of NG112 / NG 9-1-1 in their countries.
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NG112 PLUGTESTs RESULTS
The results show that the NG112 architecture is mature and there are an increasing number of interoperable solutions available.
“The Plugtests demonstrate that the technology is ready to be implemented. Emergency services should be rapidly making the move towards Next Generation communications,” stated Cristina Lumbreras, EENA’s Technical Director. “We need to act now, not in the future.“
Key results and findings:
- 285 test pairings, with 87% demonstrating interoperability.
- Standards authorities such as ETSI are crucial in building a chain of trust.
- Multiple tests were carried out with mobile network operators, including the use of civic/geodetic data for emergency routing and dispatch, the use of audio, video, and real-time text.
- Testing completed on ESInet peering through Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) and Public Internet.
- Future testing should be based on locations, identities, tools, and VPN configuration.
A report will soon be published by ETSI on the results of the NG112 Plugtests. You will be able to find it here.