At the Critical Communication World event, Crosscall was awarded the "Best MCX Product of the Year" prize for its CORE-Z5 smartphone. This global award highlights Crosscall's expertise in designing critical communication solutions and its ability to develop innovative products that meet the needs of public and private security professionals.
AN INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR CROSSCALL AND ITS CORE-Z5
Every year, Critical Communication World (CCW) brings together end users of critical communication systems, manufacturers, and suppliers for three days of inspiration, knowledge, and networking. This key industry event is organized by the TCCA (The Critical Communication Association), whose mission is to develop and promote standardized critical communication solutions worldwide.
On this occasion, the TCCA hosts the International Critical Communication Awards (ICCA), a ceremony that honors the most innovative initiatives and products internationally.
This year, Crosscall, the French manufacturer, stood out with its CORE-Z5 smartphone, which won the "Best MCX Product of the Year" award. This award highlights Crosscall's expertise in designing MCX products, a new standard defined by 3GPP, operating on LTE 4G and 5G networks, where X represents multiple mission-critical services (MC) such as PTT (push to talk, i.e., voice), data, video, and other services. The CORE-Z5 is thus recognized at the highest level by industry professionals as a solution meeting their current and future needs.
CRITICAL COMMUNICATION: A SECTOR IN FULL TRANSITION
The world of critical communication is undergoing significant transformation. Until now, several technologies equivalent to 2G were mainly used in the public security sector: TETRA, ACROPOL, TETRAPOL, P25… These allow communication over private mobile networks called PMR (Private Mobile Radio), independent mobile networks separate from public mobile networks. These technologies are set to be replaced by new private networks operating on 4G and 5G networks. Thus, old portable communication tools will gradually be replaced by more modern devices. The smartphone will become the ideal tool for security forces, enabling them to access brand-new features, improve operational efficiency in the field, and be interoperable. Indeed, in addition to voice communications, they will now be able to share data, photos, videos, and real-time location simultaneously with multiple people.
However, compatibility with private networks and priority access to them remain essential to make the smartphone an MCX tool. For this, smartphones must be compatible with certain specific frequency bands. This is an expertise Crosscall has developed in recent years, allowing it to develop, in technological partnership with Qualcomm, the CORE-Z5, the world's first smartphone compatible with band 68, a frequency band dedicated to public security in most European countries. This innovation now allows the French manufacturer to stand out and receive an international award.
"We are very proud to receive this award. It rewards the work done over several years by our product development and software teams. It is a milestone for Crosscall and a top-level recognition that establishes our expertise in the critical communication sector."
Nicolas Zibell, CEO of Crosscall.
CROSSCALL, EUROPEAN SPECIALIST IN CRITICAL COMMUNICATION
Crosscall has demonstrated its expertise in the critical communication sector by developing innovative products and solutions and providing professionals with solutions that meet their specific needs. The manufacturer also helps advance this sector by working on large-scale international projects, such as Broadway, a project aimed at defining, developing, and testing next-generation critical communication solutions for public security organizations across Europe.
Thus, Crosscall is one of the first manufacturers to work on supporting eMBMS (evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services), which enables "point-to-multipoint" content distribution. Thanks to this, multiple terminals can receive information that the antenna sends to everyone instead of receiving it separately.
Support for this feature complements that of band 68. Indeed, this band has a width of 5 MHz, which, in the event of major events or crises, may be insufficient to support multiple video streams shared among several people.
Thus, in the future, public security forces will be more connected. They will be equipped with smartphones and dedicated accessories allowing them to manage all their missions wherever they are, more quickly while minimizing risks on the ground. This is a central aspect for the safety of populations, especially the security of major events in which Crosscall and its products are directly involved. At COP 27, held in Dubai at the end of 2023, Crosscall helped ensure the smooth running and security of participants at this international event gathering 196 states around the issue of climate change. The critical communication system implemented, based on Crosscall's reliable and durable terminals, facilitated coordination of involved units and incident management during these important days. A real-life experience that will benefit the French Ministry of the Interior during another major event, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where Crosscall terminals will support police and gendarmes mobilized to ensure festive and safe games for the public. This solution replacing conventional radios offers agents better network quality and communication continuity, relying on a smartphone and Crosscall's X-COMM remote microphone, adapted to their operational needs.