Brussels (Belgium), 17 June 2025 - The Global Certification Forum (GCF) and TCCA are pleased to announce increasing support for the GCF Certification program for Broadband Mission Critical Services with the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB) joining GCF as Mission Critical Communications Operator (MCCO). DSB reports to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security in Norway.

Eline Paxal, head of DSB's Department for Emergency Communications, commented: “We are excited about joining GCF and we are looking forward to participating as Mission Critical Communications Operator. We have initiated the work to establish a broadband public safety radio network to meet the needs of emergency and preparedness users after the phase-out of the current TETRA Nødnett. We will request that the mission critical broadband products and services are certified as standardised and interoperable. Our conclusion is that being a GCF member is important to support the ongoing work to establish necessary processes for testing and certification of mission critical products and services.”

Lars Nielsen, GCF’s CEO, said: “GCF Certification for Broadband Mission Critical Services gains a lot of momentum in Europe, and we are pleased to welcome DSB joining GCF as a new MCCO. We are looking forward to more Mission Critical Operators and Service Providers joining the initiative, as well as increased engagement from vendors of Mission Critical Services and Devices.”

Nina Myren, director and board member of TCCA representing DSB, emphasises the importance of building the full stack of testing and certification services for mission critical products and services. "TCCA and GCF have worked closely over the last years to establish the necessary processes for testing and certification of mission critical services. We encourage our members that are Public Safety Communications operators to request certified products, and also to become GCF MCCO members. I am very happy to see that also my organisation and our long-time member DSB has taken this step."

Four MCCOs now have joined GCF

In the last few months, ASTRID from Belgium and Erillisverkot from Finland have joined GCF, following Sweden's Myndigheten för Samhällsskydd och Beredskap (MSB) who was the first public safety organisation to become a member of the GCF as a MCCO.

MSB, ASTRID, Erillisverkot and DSB have also been participating in the Mission Critical Services Work Stream, set up by GCF and TCCA to align and speed up the market availability of certified 3GPP standards-based Mission Critical Broadband Services and Devices.

The GCF certification programmes assures device-network and client-server compliance to 3GPP standards for mission critical devices and services, as well as contributing to reducing testing cost and accelerating time-to-market.

GCF at CCW 2025

DSB joining GCF happens just before TCCA's flagship event Critical Communications World  (CCW) 2025, taking place from 17th to 19th June at Brussels Expo, Belgium. This event unites mission-critical and business-critical end-users with manufacturers and suppliers for three days of inspiration, knowledge and connections.

GCF is presenting and partaking in CCW 2025 Conference & Focus Forums. Check our events page about the various sessions by GCF at CCW 2025, or to meet with the GCF team at booth K101.    

Photo courtesy: The Norwegian Armed Forces