In Germany, a nationwide digital voice and data radio system for authorities and organisations with security tasks (BOS) is currently being set up. For the later functional operation of the digital radio BOS, it is essential that all terminal devices intended for use in the digital radio BOS interact without interference with all other
components of the digital radio BOS and fulfil certain performance characteristics specified by the Federal Agency for Digital Radio of the BOS (BDBOS).

Therefore, only such terminals may be used in the BOS digital radio system that have been tested accordingly. Testing is carried out by expert test centres and their own testers. The tests take place in a test laboratory on the test platform of the BDBOS, which is recognised for the scope "Provision of a certification test laboratory for interoperability tests with network relevance for digital radio BOS".

Currently, IT security service providers are certified for the following areas of application:

• Performance of interoperability tests for radio equipment in digital radio BOS,
• Performance of interoperability tests for control centres in digital radio BOS,
• Provision of a certification test laboratory for interoperability tests with network relevance for digital radio BOS (ZPL).

Competent BOS interoperability testers or ZPL employees whose competence has been determined by the BSI and BDBOS must be employed in these areas of application.

The following areas of competence are distinguished:

• TETRA-standard and TETRA radio system technology,
• Laboratory and field tests of radio equipment,
• laboratory tests of control centres,
• Specification and validation of IOP guidelines and test environments,
• Provision and configuration of the ZPL as well as
• Cryptographic procedures (BOS cryptosystem).

The competence assessment is carried out within the framework of the procedure for the recognition of test centres and certification of IT security service providers and does not represent an independent certification of persons.