Capacity demand and quality of experience expectations in mobile networks are increasing dramatically. Mobile network operators need to look for innovative approaches to verify current network performance and to design and roll out network expansions.
Rohde & Schwarz has announced its new network performance test for mobile network testing. The innovative and patent-pending solution enables users to simultaneously measure the maximum data capacity and minimum continuous connectivity in a mobile network. Mobile operators have immediate insight into the network capacity available to end users. It is also easier and more affordable to carry out benchmark comparisons with competitor networks. This new procedure overcomes the disadvantages of traditional capacity testing using plain file uploads and downloads.
Network and service performance are the key to delivering the required quality of experience to mobile subscribers. Mobile network operators' main areas of interest include preparation of service launches as well as monitoring the network quality of experience to ensure service quality. Large enterprise customers are also interested in SLA assurance. And last but not least, a minimum network quality needs to be assured. Mobile network testing in general and the network performance test in particular are critical elements in meeting these requirements.
Compared to traditional long-term transmission capacity tests, the new test procedure dramatically minimizes the load in live cells during testing and therefore real subscribers in the network are not disturbed during live measurements. On the measurement end, the power and data consumption of the smartphone used for testing is significantly reduced. Consequently, costly SIM/data tariffs for benchmarking competing operators' networks and costly efforts to keep the phone's CPU temperature healthy and constant (required for precise measurements since increasing temperature significantly impacts the smartphone's inherent performance) can be avoided.
VP of the Mobile Network Testing Market Segment, Hanspeter Bobst stated that this newly developed network performance test covers all cellular technologies and in the long-term will all mobile network testing products will also support it.
The test procedure focuses completely on the aspects of mobile network performance that benefit end users, including the geographical dimension (which SON algorithms cannot provide). Unlike many speed tests on the market, the network performance test is independent of any third-party service hosted on the public Internet.
Rohde & Schwarz is initially launching this new network performance test in February 2016 for its Benchmarker product line. Releases for other product lines will follow later in 2016.
