The Linux distribution has been officially certified by OSDL (Open Source Development Labs) to be used in working environments specific to telecommunications service providers.

This certification indicates that Debian Linux meets a set of requirements related to reliability, availability, performance and response times specific to this type of industry or services. These specifications are known as Carrier Grade Linux or CGL and every Linux distribution has to meet them in order to be approved.

Even if this is only a certification given to a distribution, it could be another great step for Linux. "CGL registration marks an important milestone in Debian's support for Linux in communications infrastructure," said Debian project leader Anthony Towns. "With the assistance of our industry partners in meeting OSDL's CGL specifications, we look forward to better addressing the needs of the increasing market for Linux systems in telecoms."

A great interest in certification of Debian is showed by HP, which uses the Linux distribution on their products specially built for telecom operators.

CGL specifications are hard to gain, so currently there are only eight Linux distributions which meet these specifications. Some of these distributions are MontaVista Linux, SuSE Linux Enterprise Server and Asianux. The certification for Debian is only available for version 3.1, code-named "Sarge". Some of its features are security updates, highly tested software and kernel 2.6.8.

It has to be known that CGL certifications are not universally accepted by other Linux distributors. For example, Red Hat characterizes some of CGL specification as "immature technologies" and that's why Red Hat Linux is only 85% compatible with CGL requirements. But a strong argument for Red Hat is the distribution's reputation and track record.