1995-1999
The Global Certification Forum (GCF) was founded in 1999. However, it’s valuable to look a little further back to understand its origins and purpose.
In the early days of the mobile telecom industry, it was common practice for each operator to undertake its own testing before introducing handsets or other terminals on their network. This ‘type approval’ approach, inherited from fixed networks (often nationwide) with many network-specific features, did not have a standard process to certify devices.
That all changed in 1995 when the European Community (EC) announced a change in telecom regulation with the Radio & Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Directive (R&TTE Directive). This directive provided a “regulatory framework for the placing on the market, free movement, and putting into service of radio equipment and telecommunications equipment,” which harmonised the basic requirements for the commercialisation of devices in the member states of the EC. The directive neither mandated nor specified the management of interworking with the mobile networks, which was set to commence in 1999.
For the mobile industry leaders of the era, it was evident that a strong, well-managed device certification would soon be necessary to guarantee seamless interworking (as it was called then) or interoperability—as it’s referred to today.
After the announcement of the R&TTE Directive, industry operators initiated the Certification Task Force (CTF) in 1997, which was soon joined by a wide array of leading manufacturers. The CTF then evolved into the Voluntary Certification Scheme (VCS) that held meetings over a period of several months. This culminated in the ‘London Agreement’ meeting on 24 August 1999, attended by eight manufacturers, ten operators, the ECTEL TMS trade group, and the GSM Association (GSMA).
At the London meeting, the foundational principles of the GCF were defined and agreed upon. A principle tenet established was that decisions would require a dual majority from both the participating operators and the device manufacturers.
This established a commitment to cooperation and mutual advantage, which has since facilitated the industry’s prosperity and expansion. The rest, as they say, is history. In the past quarter-century, 750 companies have participated in the GCF, and thousands of delegates have attended over 750 meetings in 28 countries across five continents.
The GCF remains strong 25 years after it was founded, with the principles agreed upon in London remaining at the core of all our activities. Here’s to the next 25 years.
This text is part of the booklet "A Foundation for the Future: 25 years of GCF", available for download here.