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January 18, 2012

Ensuring Proper Handover Procedures is One of the Most Critical Areas for Testing

The telecommunications industry’s move toward Long Term Evolution (LTE) brought numerous opportunities as well as challenges to wireless test equipment vendors. Some of such drivers and restraints are analyzed below.



MIMO and Antenna Design

Since Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna technology is responsible for about half of the data rate capability offered by LTE, it is one of the most significant drivers for air-interface test equipment. If MIMO is not properly implemented, the end-user experience will suffer. The coexistence of multiple radios in the devices presents a significant challenge, thus the demand for successful test equipment tools is expected to continue increasing. Time Division (TD) LTE will be a big player in China, India and most likely in the USA. The future of network capacity is in the beam forming technique that uses MIMO. The challenge associated with it is that the technology is extremely complicated. As the number of antennas involved in MIMO increases, so does the complexity of testing.

Proper Handover

Interoperability is a major challenge facing proper LTE-to-3G handover. Although LTE is backward compatible with 3G and LTE upgrades from 3G networks, there are a number of complex technical issues that need addressing. There are multiple standards that are likely to operate in parallel with LTE; thus, the interconnectivity with legacy networks becomes a challenge. As LTE is deployed initially in major cities, small cities are still expected to operate on Evolved High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+); towns are expected to employ a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) and rural areas, unfortunately, will continue operating on Global Systems Mobile (GSM), all on the same network. This presents a key challenge for wireless test equipment vendors who must ensure that the LTE devices work seamlessly with legacy networks, in addition to guarantying conformance with the latest LTE standards.

In order to facilitate mobility without service interruptions, a connected mode Inter-Radio Access Technology (RAT) handover feature becomes necessary. Such a feature will enable seamless service that may not be possible during LTE's initial deployment. In addition, a successful handover procedure must satisfy handover delay requirements for better quality of experience (QoE). The user throughput should remain at a level that is above the user service requirements both before and after the handover. Testing various handover procedures and emulating all of the mobility events that can possibly occur on a network present serious challenges for service providers and at the same time numerous opportunities for test equipment vendors due to the complexity. There are a number of base stations that break down while struggling to perform handover, mainly due to a high volume of complex control-plane messaging. Ensuring proper handover procedures is one of the most critical areas of testing currently. This will create numerous opportunities for the test equipment vendors as 3G to 4G handover must be thoroughly tested.

Interoperability Testing

LTE is operating in the multi-vendor environment. Because of that, service providers (SPs) and network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) must ensure that all the vendors implement the newest standards and that compliance is done properly. Test equipment solutions are extremely important to ensure multi-vendor interoperability.

Explosion of Wireless Data

Mobile data traffic is on the rise primarily because of the consumer’s desire to access Internet on the go.  Increased penetration of smartphones, laptops, netbooks, notebooks and tablets, coupled with   bandwidth-hungry applications and services, contributed to the rapid growth of mobile data. According to Facebook, more than 350 million active users currently access Facebook through their mobile devices.

In addition, more than 475 mobile operators work globally to deploy and promote Facebook mobile products. All of the factors listed above drive mobile data traffic growth. However, not all data traffic is generated by consumers. Actual data performance becomes extremely important and SPs need to ensure that they receive good throughput numbers according to the technology and understand how it affects real world conditions. In addition, smartphone applications, wireless data and video all drive the need for increasing numbers of Ethernet 1G/10G test equipment to perform turn-up and maintenance on emerging LTE backhaul networks. High volume data usage puts tremendous strain on networks, thus, the demand for testing is on the rise.

Want to learn more about 4G wireless technologies? Then be sure to attend the 4GWE Conference, collocated with TMC’s ITEXPO East 2012taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. Co-sponsored by TMC Partner Crossfire Media the 4GWE Conference provides unmatched networking opportunities and a robust conference program representing the wireless ecosystem. The conference not only brings together the best and brightest in the wireless industry, it actually spans the communications and technology industry. For more information on registering for the 4GWE Conference click here.

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Olga Yashkova is Program Manager for the Frost & Sullivan Test & Measurement practice. She focuses on next generation services monitoring and analyzing emerging trends, technologies and market behavior in the telecommunications test & measurement industry. To read more of Olga’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Rich Steeves


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