Emergency Call Testing in Australia: Ensuring Safety and Compliance with Comtest
Emergency Call Testing in Australia
In an emergency, correct operation of a mobile phone, tablet or smart watch is paramount to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the public. The recent 3G shutdown in Australia and the government response to 2023’s Optus outage have highlighted the importance of emergency call testing for mobile devices.
A copy of the Australian Government Response to the Bean Review Final Report – Review of the Optus outage of 8 November 2023 can be found here.
What Is Required?
As mobile phone users we expect to be able to call 000 at any time, but how can we be certain our device will work in an emergency? Mobile users may find themselves outside their network, without an active mobile plan, or may have to use an unfamiliar (and locked) device.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) mandates a series of tests for all voice capable devices within the AS/CA S042.1:2022 standard. These tests are designed to ensure users can access emergency services in all circumstances and facilitate a timely and accurate response.
The AS/CA S042.1:2022 standard requires a mobile device to call both 000 and 112 – the Australian emergency number, and the international standard emergency number, respectively. Dialling either of these numbers should result in the exact same action by the mobile, and the phone may be programmed with other numbers (such as the United Kingdom’s 999) but it is important, in Australia, to use 000 or 112.
The test suite covers a range of device conditions, ensuring correct dialling of 000 and 112 when locked, unlocked, network locked, or SIM locked. Devices must also dial with active SIM cards, invalid SIMs, damaged, and faulty SIMs.
Network conditions are also checked – a device must operate correctly on all three major carriers (Telstra, Optus, Vodafone), and when out of range of the ‘home’ carrier. For example, an Optus user may find themselves in an area with only Telstra coverage – their phone must still dial 000 when needed.
The type of network matters too – VoLTE and VoNR capable devices must be assessed on each. Modern phones capable of Wi-Fi calling need to perform an emergency call here too.
New Additions to the Standard
The 2020 and 2022 revisions of AS/CA S042.1 saw a few new additions to the requirements. For one, all the above network conditions needed to be checked. New technologies such as VoNR and VoWiFi were included, as well as Advanced Mobile Location (AML) and eSIMs.
AML is an automatic text message sent when an emergency call is made. This message contains location data and provides the emergency call operator with additional information the caller may be unable to provide. AS/CA S042.1 follows the European ETSI standard for AML, requiring specific location data and accuracy, and recommends that all devices send additional messages. This is especially helpful when the caller is moving.
With AML, we must also ensure that the device only sends a message to the Australian Emergency Services when it’s in country. An Australian travelling internationally should only be notifying the local service, not one on the other side of the world.
Other Emergency Requirements
Mobile SIMs contain preconfigured emergency numbers in their Emergency Call Codes parameter (EFECC). Mobile devices must recognise these numbers as valid emergency numbers. Let’s say a tourist from New Zealand is visiting Australia and are in an emergency. They have a phone with a roaming New Zealand SIM installed, and they dial the number they remember from home – 111. The phone must act the exact same way as if they had dialled 000 or 112, except this time it’s checking the SIM ECC field and knows to treat this as an emergency number.
The emergency call requirements don’t just cover mobile phones – gateway devices must also dial accordingly. Gateway devices are those which have a local port (or interface), and don’t have their own keypad for dialling, such as a cellular router with a connection to an analogue handset. Satellite phones must also be able to dial 000 when required.
Comtest has Decades of Leadership in Mobile Safety Testing—Ensuring Compliance and Confidence Every Step of the Way
Comtest
At Comtest, we have complete capability and are NATA accredited to perform emergency call testing on all mobile and satellite devices. We test all capabilities against controlled live networks, ensuring devices comply to the standard, and proving correct operation when in Australia. By liaising with the local emergency services, we can confirm AML data is presented correctly and received.
Our laboratory can also test the acoustic safety of any handheld device. This is an additional (non-emergency) requirement of AS/CA S042.1 that ensures the safety of any user by limiting the sound level output to 120 dB(A).
The Future
The past two years have already seen major changes to the networks, and how devices interact. The 3G shutdown has meant only VoLTE capable devices are able to make calls, but at the same time the networks have enabled VoNR, ensuring multiple technologies are present in case of emergency.
In the future we expect to see more upgrades by the carriers, as 3G and LTE spectrum is made more available to 5G NR, band 26 is enabled, and mmWave technologies become widespread. For emergency services, we expect to see non-terrestrial networks (NTN) become available, and the implementation of a national emergency messaging service, like EU-Alert. Once available, these will become part of the AS/CA S042 standard, and Comtest will be ready to continue testing mobile devices completely.
Contact Comtest today for a 30 minute free consultation
Call us on +61396455933 or visit our website www.comtestgroup.com.au to learn more about our comprehensive range of services and how we can help you achieve compliance excellence.
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