Technical Committee (TC) Core Network and Interoperability Testing (INT) Activity Report 2023

Chair: Giulio Maggiore, Telecom Italia SpA

Developing core network test specifications to ensure interoperability, conformance, performance and security, together with use cases and requirements for automated & autonomic (self-) management of networks and services. Responsibility includes initiating and supervising interoperability and events related to core networks with other organizations, and for endorsing test specifications produced by other SDOs.

Interoperability is crucial to ensuring Quality of Service and Quality of Experience in complex end-to-end systems such as Voice over LTE (VoLTE) that bring together Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMSTM), packet and circuit switched networks.

In ETSI our Technical Committee on Core Network and Interoperability Testing (TC INT) develops core network test specifications for interoperability, conformance, performance and security. These are based on – but not limited to – 3GPP specifications (including Virtual, Layered and Autonomic Networks).

The scope of this activity includes the development use cases and requirements for automated and autonomic (self-) management of networks and services.

The committee produces test purposes, test descriptions and TTCN-3 test cases to enable interoperability testing of the core network elements and covering the single-network, interconnect and roaming scenarios. Use cases and requirements specified by ETSI for automated and autonomic management and control of networks and services are regularly tested via ‘industry standards-anchored’ Proof of Concept (PoC) events.

In 2023 TC INT and its Working Group INT AFI maintained cooperation with the following groups: ITU‑T SG 11 (SG11: Signalling requirements, protocols, test specifications and combating counterfeit products) and ITU‑T SG 12 (Performance, QoS and QoE); BBF, GSMA, TC MTS, ISG ENI.

In April we published a new Technical Specification TS 103 975 V1.1.1 ‘Closed User Group (CUG) using IP Multimedia (IM) Core Network (CN) subsystem at the AGCF connecting legacy access; Conformance Test Specification (3GPP™ Release 17); Test Suite Structure and Test Purposes (TSS&TP)’.

During the year work also progressed on development of various Technical Specifications and Technical Reports including:

  • Test Requirements and Approach for E2E Federated Testbeds
  • Conformance Test Specifications for the SCC-AS Services
    • Part 1: Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement
    • Part 2: Abstract Test Suite (ATS)
  • Test Description for emergency services over VoLTE
    • Part 1: Test Purposes
    • Part 2: Test Descriptions
    • Part 3: Abstract Test Suite (ATS), Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement and eXtra Information for Testing (PIXIT) proforma specification
  • IPv6-only service test scenarios over 5G
    • Part 1: Test purposes
    • Part 2: Test Description
    • Part 3: Abstract Test suite
  • VoNR/ViNR and VoLTE/ViLTE interconnection testing for interworking and roaming scenarios with QoS/QoE
  • 5G NGAP Conformance Testing for the N2 interface; (3GPP™ Release 16)
    • Part 1: Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement (PICS)
    • Part 2: Test Suite Structure (TSS) and Test Purposes (TP)
    • Part 3: Abstract Test Suite (ATS) and partial Protocol Implementation eXtra Information for Testing (PIXIT) pro forma specification
  • 5G NAS Conformance Testing for the N1 interface; (3GPP™ Release 16)
    • Part 1: Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement (PICS)
    • Part 2: Test Suite Structure (TSS) and Test Purposes (TP)
    • Part 3: Abstract Test Suite (ATS) and partial Protocol Implementation eXtra Information for Testing (PIXIT) pro forma specification
  • Methodologies for Testing & Validation of nApp based services over 5G networks

Meanwhile ETSI’s Working Group on the evolution of management toward Autonomic Future Internet (AFI) – part of TC INT – made progress on various Technical Reports relating to Generic Autonomic Network Architecture (GANA).

This work was reflected in the publication in September 2023 of the first part of Technical Report TR 103 195-1 V1.1.1 ‘Business drivers for autonomic networking’ that identifies key actors and related roles and responsibility demarcation within an autonomic, cognitive and self-managed network ecosystem.

See the full list of TC INT Work Items currently in development here.