Mission-critical communication standards are coming, and AT&T is ready

Igor Glubochansky November 06, 2018

AT&T’s push-to-talk solutions for business- and mission-critical communications are becoming more versatile and effective than ever before.  New capabilities planned for 2018 and 2019 will bring us closer to meeting the performance and functionality standards of 3GPP for mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT). These global standards for push-to-talk and beyond will help take instant communications to large groups to a new level.

3GPP (the global standards body for LTE and 5G) has been setting standards for wireless communications since the early ‘90s.  Now they’ve standardized mission-critical services that focus on high performance and critical communications for first responders and others in demanding field jobs.   

It’s all designed to improve interoperability and 2-way radio communications for modern, interoperable broadband communications.

And AT&T is 100% on board with this. We’re working with a lot of suppliers to keep providing cost-effective, standards-based and interoperable solutions.  Our FirstNet push-to-talk services will be fully standards-based, too, in addition to hosting FirstNet MCPTT services in the dedicated, physically separate FirstNet network core.

Our plans include rolling out several new push-to-talk features based on 3GPP’s MCPTT standards this year.  AT&T Enhanced Push-to-Talk (EPTT) will offer advanced features for customers in public safety, utilities, transportation, and energy.

Here’s what this means for them:

-          Crystal clear calls with instant call setup on the AT&T LTE network or Wi-Fi, as well as on FirstNet, the communications platform for public safety, even in buildings

-          New emergency and imminent peril modes that help assist employees in distress or needing immediate assistance 

-          Refined situational awareness and location management

-          Expanded group communication settings

-          More seamless interoperability with 2-way radio systems

-          Comprehensive deployment support with expert assistance

We’re marching toward fully 3GPP MCPTT based applications, as these standards continue being set. By the second half of 2019, we plan to have our solutions fully compliant. We’ll also have a broad ecosystem of rugged devices, accessories, and interop and dispatch applications to fuel adoption.

Learn more about upcoming EPTT updates at http://www.att.com/eptt