Focus on the bottom line: New test equipment aims to reduce costs, improve service offerings

One of the hottest trends at Wireless '98-wideband code division multiple access-was reflected in test equipment displayed there. Vendors also unveiled products to streamline test and measurement operations to improve service and reduce costs.

As carriers and vendors begin to work on adding wideband capability to wireless networks, their initial test equipment needs will be for research and development.

Tektronix now offers wideband CDMA test capability for the FSE series spectrum analyzers and SMIQ series signal generators developed by German-based Rohde & Schwartz and marketed and supported by Tektronix in the U.S. and Canada.

Adjacent channel power will be an important measurement for wideband CDMA, said Brad Harris, business development manager at Tektronix. That will make dynamic range critical for test equipment, he said, adding that an FSE spectrum analyzer provides more than 70 dB of dynamic range to support adjacent channel power measurements.

Because wideband CDMA specifications still are being resolved, flexibility in test equipment also will be key.

The SMIQ signal generator has user-definable modulation maps that can be adjusted as requirements change to control parameters such as power between channels, Harris said.

Wideband CDMA deployment likely will occur first in Japan, where existing networks are overtaxed, said Hans Mattes, wireless business development manager for Hewlett-Packard's microwave and communications group.

To initiate those efforts, NTT has identified a list of suppliers with which it will work closely and has chosen HP as its only American test equipment supplier.

"We want to end up with a solution for design and system modeling through prototyping, manufacturer field testing and service provider support," Mattes said, adding that being involved in all aspects of testing will bring synergies to HP's efforts. For example, data learned in drive testing will be used in system modeling.

"Complicated technologies allow for system effects no one expected," said Mattes. "Connections [between test operations] will be key to being able to decipher what initially will appear to be strange effects when we start deploying systems."

Although wireless local loop attracted less attention than it did at last year's show, an announcement from Sage Technologies Inc. indicated that carriers are beginning to look closely at wireless local loop deployment issues. Sage introduced an automated local loop tester aimed primarily at that market.

The device performs a battery of tests in two minutes that would take two hours manually, said Jim Barber, director of marketing for telecom and wireless products at Sage. The device also tells the technician which measurements were out of limits. The technician then can put in a service or work order number, which can be used to complete a service order.

"I don't think we knew how powerful [the tester] was until we got it done," said Barber.

Service providers can design a pass/fail template to use with the local loop tester. The product has been in field trials for six months, and the company is ready to take orders, Barber said.

Better and cheaper Although emerging technologies tend to receive the most hype at Wireless '98, test vendors focused on addressing operational issues for existing networks to try to improve service and increase efficiency.

Wavetek, for example, introduced the 4100S wireless phone tester, which is used with the company's antenna coupler to allow personnel at service depots to conduct a simple pass/fail test. The devices work with various GSM phones, using a clamp-style interface to accommodate different form factors.

HP introduced a new phone tester as well. Model 8924 is a time division multiple access (TDMA) version of a ruggedized phone tester previously offered for CDMA networks.

Vendors also announced new products for test driving.

The Swarm test system from Ameritec Corp. is a simplified form of existing drive test systems that aims to identify cellular and PCS network problems before customers do (Table 1). The system includes a vehicle-mounted responder, which holds a wireless phone; the Swarm Master call simulation system; and Swarm Analysis, a Windows NT-based analytical tool.

In one day, Swarm Master can place thousands of calls to a responder as the vehicle in which the responder is mounted travels around a metropolitan area. In the process, the system measures uncompleted and dropped calls and other network parameters, feeding those measurements to the analytical tool. Problem areas can be identified easily through a map-based display, and technicians can be dispatched to correct the problem.

Drivers do not need special training and don't even need to know that a test device is in the vehicle, said Ameritec General Manager Dave McDonald. Wireless carriers could make arrangements with companies that use delivery vans with traveling salespeople and others frequently on the road to equip their vehicles with responders.

"The business case for this product is churn," said McDonald, citing a Strategis Group study that found that 26% of wireless customers who cancel service do so because of poor call quality or dropped calls. "If you can reduce churn by one-tenth of 1%, you've bought our system and put a lot of money in your pocket."

Swarm works with any type of cellular or PCS network.

Allen Telecom introduced a more conventional drive test system for CDMA networks, dubbed the Illuminator. The company claims the device, which automatically logs exceptions in performance, is suited for less-experienced technicians.

Allen also announced a new capability for its Surveyor CDMA drive test system. The device now can test hard handoffs from CDMA 1900 to AMPS 800 networks.

HP introduced five new drive test systems for CDMA networks, including the E7470A and E7472A systems that integrate phone and receiver functionality. The former is for PCS networks, and the latter is for cellular.

Improving voice quality is the goal of the TQNM VoicePrint test system that Safco Technologies introduced. The product measures voice quality on calls sent and received using recorded speech samples, records call setup times and collects statistics of blocked or dropped calls.

"Voice quality is going to become the battleground for competing wireless licensees," said Marty Singer, Safco president and CEO.

The first TQNM product, Model VP 100, is designed to analyze NAMPS/AMPS and CDMA networks. Safco will introduce versions for other types of networks later this year.

TTC's AirAudit system attacks another area of concern to wireless carriers-revenue assurance. TTC announced at Wireless '98 that AT&T Wireless will deploy AirAudit in 15 sites.

"The product allows service providers to centrally manage a distributed network of remote call processors," said Mark Cortner, TTC marketing product line manager. That can reduce a wireless carrier's need to send technicians to a metropolitan area and to use a bag of phones to simulate different types of calls-such as landline-to-mobile, mobile-to-mobile and 911 calls. A recent field test with AT&T Wireless verified that the level of process improvement expected was real, Cortner said.

AirAudit now works with TDMA networks, but the company plans to offer GSM and CDMA versions, said Cortner, adding that the company also likely will offer a similar system for testing wireless data applications.

While AirAudit ensures customers are charged correctly, the Min ViewPoint centralized SS7 network management system from Tekno Industries Inc. is aimed at ensuring carriers are billed properly by other carriers.

The system monitors completed and non-completed inbound and outbound calls and measures minutes of use at each end, said Tekno President Ernest Karras. Wireless carriers previously could not tell the amount of air time on calls coming in from various parts of the country, even though they were getting charged, he said.

Tekno also offers a Call Completion Analysis System, which includes only the billing functionality of Min ViewPoint. The Tekno systems could be useful for carriers wishing to implement calling party pays, said Karras.

GN Nettest introduced a product to tap into the data contained in SS7 networks. Call Data Recorder is an option for use with the company's multiprotocol analyzer that can build a record for each call and hand it off to a presentation program that runs on Microsoft Access.

"You can compare whether what you see from the switch is what you see from our analyzer," said Donald J. McGillis, North American sales manager for GN Nettest's Telecom Group.

Billing verification, fraud prevention and customer care are key applications for the product.

Two other companies made protocol analyzer-related announcements.

TTC added support for the IS-41 interswitch protocol to its Fireberd 500 internetworking analyzer. Inet introduced the Spectra CX, a more economical version of its Spectra analyzer. The original product includes a load generator, a function primarily required for laboratory applications, an INET spokesman said. The new model, which lacks the load generator, enables carriers to do conformance and validation testing.

-Wireless Networks Editor Nancy Gohring contributed to this story.