Polaris Networks and Nemergent Solutions complete MCPTT interoperability tests

Polaris Networks and Nemergent Solutions announced on 5 June that they have successfully completed interoperability tests between Polaris Networks’ LTE evolved packet core, NetEPC, and Nemergent’s Mission Critical Services (MCS) Application Server.

The tests were aided by both companies’ adoption of the 3GPP standards for mission-critical features that have been defined in Releases 12, 13, and 14, and covered a wide range of services including MCPTT private calls, group calls and multiple private calls.

Polaris Networks has been working with the PSCR lab in Boulder for more than four years to research and test LTE core network infrastructure’s features and capabilities for the delivery of

critical communication services. The company states that its NetEPC is a complete implementation of the core network elements of 4G-LTE and is widely used to build private LTE networks by industries such as mining, shipping, oil & gas and also by government agencies responsible for internal and external security.

Polaris customers will now be able to augment their networks to provide mission critical communication services using solutions like those from Nemergent Solutions.

Nemergent Solutions, with headquarters in Bilbao, Spain, has been developing and delivering elements for Mission Critical Push-to-Talk based on 3GPP standards. It joined the ETSI organised MCPTT Plugtest in 2017, and will attend the second Plugtests event later this year in Texas. The company is looking to further its partnership with Polaris Networks and deliver integrated mission critical communication solutions to customers.

Aditya Saraf, Polaris Networks’ VP – business development, said: "This initiative by Polaris & Nemergent provides fillip to the efforts of the industry and groups like ETSI and 3GPP for replacing legacy technologies with standards based LTE technology for mission critical communications. Working together, Polaris and Nemergent can help build wireless networks that not only delivers mission-critical voice services but multi-media services as well."

Jose Oscar Fajardo, Nemergent Solutions’ CEO, added: "Following Nemergent's philosophy of fostering open interoperable ecosystems based on international standards, we are happy to collaborate with Polaris in this new partnership. Evaluating our MCS applications over carrier-grade mission-critical network cores such as NetEPC allows us [to bring] the technology to the end users."