Alcatel-Lucent has successfully completed initial Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) program interoperability testing with their Public Safety Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, the company announced.

This is the only system that has successfully completed third-party interoperability testing for both its radio access network (RAN) and core network components.

This interoperability testing highlights the benefits to public safety of using open standards based commercial broadband technology. The testing showed that public safety agencies can use a core from one vendor and eNodeBs from other vendors, which represents a major shift from today's single-vendor Land Mobile Radio (LMR) networks, according to a company release.

The RAN and associated backhaul are typically a significant part of the overall LTE network cost. Wireless service providers now use Alcatel-Lucent's eNodeB in commercial LTE networks.

The tested network solution operates in the public safety 700 MHz band 14 spectrum, covering both PSBB and D-block spectrum. Interoperability testing validated a solution using the Alcatel-Lucent eNodeB with a Cisco Evolved Packet Core. Testing also validated a network with an Alcatel-Lucent Evolved Packet Core and an Ericsson and a Nokia Siemens Networks eNodeB.