Australia Progress towards 3GPP MCX

Samsung Networks and Etherstack are trialing the Mission Critical Push-to-X (MCPTX) solution in Australia (link). The capabilities are being shown on an undisclosed Australian mobile network. Etherstack, however, announced an agreement with Telstra for an MCX IWF Trial in September, 2023 (link). Samsung states that this is the first Australian MCPTX trial, but the agency conducting the test has not been identified.

• Samsung & Etherstack Leverage Deployment Success: Samsung Networks and Etherstack have proven success in the U.S. with their complement of mission-critical Push-to-Talk core network capabilities, client offering, and interworking with legacy P25 systems.
• Australian and New Zealand Public Safety Network Alignment on P25: Both nations are P25 strongholds. Consequently, their ecosystem matches that found in the U.S. at FirstNet, and this trial should facilitate progress toward an MCX deployment in the region.
• Australian Federal Commitment Lags: The only vigorous effort towards 3GPP MCX in Australia is the work at New South Wales Telco Authority. While encouraging signs of broader engagement from Federal officials came at Comms Connect in October 2023, we have seen little in the way of observable progress.

Bottom Line

A trial in Australia boosts the visibility of 3GPP Mission Critical Push-to-Talk network offerings from Samsung Networks and Etherstack. But the reality of near-term deployment in the region is less promising given the lack of action at the national level.