29 June 2010 - A leading global testing and compliance consultancy is celebrating after one of its senior management team was awarded a top industry prize.

Karim Sharf, chief operating officer for TRaC Telecoms and Radio, has been awarded the Chairman’s Award at the Femto Forum Femtocell Industry Awards 2010 in recognition of his work in driving forward the development of open and interoperable femtocell technology.

The Chairman’s Award is presented to the individual that Simon Saunders, chair of the Femto Forum, feels has made the biggest contribution to the Forum and the wider femtocell industry. Simon commented: "Most of the Femto Forum’s work is driven by the efforts of individuals from within our member organisations and a huge number have contributed their time and skills to the Forum in the past year and all deserve my considerable thanks.

“However, one of our key goals we had in the last year was to make tangible progress towards our vision of an open, interoperable ecosystem for femtocells. To that end, in March we ran the first plugfest for UMTS femtocells, which was widely supported by over 20 vendors.  Karim Sharf was instrumental in supporting and coordinating that process and his level of contribution to the Forum's aims has been outstanding.”

Karim Sharf is the vice chair of the interoperability testing special interest group (IOT SIG) and is editor for the interoperability test specifications document being used as the basis for the ongoing Femto Forum plugfest program, which TRaC facilitates.

TRaC has been a member of the Femto Forum since its inception three years ago and works closely with the Forum to ensure effective interoperability and the successful uptake of femtocells. Paul Russell, managing director of TRaC Telecoms and Radio, commented: “I’m delighted that Karim and TRaC are being recognized for the work we have been doing to drive forward the industry adoption of femtocells.”

The Femto Forum Femtocell Industry Awards 2010 recognize outstanding achievement within, and contributions to, the femtocell industry. The awards are open to the whole industry and are judged independently of the Femto Forum by a panel of distinguished analysts, journalists and industry experts.

Paul added: “Winning the Chairman’s Award is testament to Karim’s hard work and dedication both to the Femto Forum and to TRaC. His knowledge and experience have been invaluable, most notably in helping us secure the ongoing facilitation of the Femto Forum’s plugfest program.”

For further information about TRaC’s comprehensive telecoms services - supported by a full regulatory solution covering Radio, EMC, Safety and Approvals for global market access – visit the website at www.tracglobal.com.