Links between European and Chinese technology experts have been strengthened as the result of a new commercial agreement between the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and the China Academy of Telecommunication Research (CATR), which is part of the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. This 100 per cent Chinese funded project – provisionally titled GO4IT China – will benefit from ETSI experience in testing technologies in order to ensure global interoperability of future Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

Under the terms of the commercial agreement (the first between ETSI and a Chinese client), ETSI's Interopolis™ service will assist CATR in implementing a TTCN-3 conformance test tool capable of executing test suites for evolving communications networks. TTCN-3 is the Testing and Test Control Notation, a programming language for writing tests which has been developed by ETSI.

The standardized test suites, which are currently being developed by ETSI, concern the use of the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Session Description Protocol (SDP) within IMS, the IP Multimedia Sub-system, an Internet Protocol-based technology now being widely adopted as the core element in fixed and mobile communications and broadcast networks.

The support that will be given by the ETSI Interopolis™ service includes overall project management, provision of technical expertise and the delivery of a SIP/SDP codec as part of the test tool, of which ETSI retains ownership. Other parts of the tool set will be developed by CATR themselves, or from other vendors.

Walter Weigel, ETSI director-general, remarked, "This is a very significant step in technological co-operation between Europe and China. It will help to ensure global markets for ICT manufacturers and increasing benefits for telecommunications users. ETSI is proud to have established this contact, and looks forward to further such relations with China and other countries of the Far East."