Last week, Nokia announced the creation of the Mission Critical Communications Alliance (MCCA). This will be “a global collaboration of mobile operators, national and local-level public authorities and first response agencies to formalise standards in the use of LTE for public safety, while enabling new ideas and partnerships to bolster momentum in application of the technology in this area.”
However, Jane Rygaard, head of advanced mobile networks solutions marketing at Nokia, said that “Introducing broadband driven services for public safety means a change not only in technology but also in processes and regulatory frameworks. We felt there was a need to establish a place for discussions, where the focus is purely on broadband driven services. The intention is not to compete with [the] TCCA which has a broader focus.”
When asked if the MCCA will be open to other vendors and manufacturers of public safety LTE technology such as Ericsson and Samsung, Rygaard said that “This will be decided at a later stage, depending on the interest of the 
industry and members.”
Ashish Chowdhary, chief customer operations officer at Nokia (pictured right), said: "Having worked with the various Governments in the public safety field for over 60 years, we are happy to facilitate a broad group of stakeholders in the global public safety community to drive the adoption of LTE in critical communications. The Mission Critical Communications Alliance will work towards realizing the unique benefits of LTE in public safety, enabling national, regional and local authorities to provide a higher level of safety and security for their citizens, while creating innovative new business models for service providers. We look forward to welcoming other members to the Alliance who are committed to using 4G technology to enhance the effectiveness of mission-critical services."
