EXFO Launches its Brix Mobile Agent for Real-Time QoE Insight

The landscape of today's mobile market is changing dramatically with wireless devices spawning exponentially and data services overtaking voice services. What is not changing is that subscribers and end users continue to evaluate wireless networks based on the QoE that they perceive on their mobile devices. The challenge for mobile network operators (MNO) lies in going beyond the last mile to validate what their customers are experiencing in real time, for different classes and quality of service.

The BMA provides sophisticated and exhaustive service assurance validation tests for wireless networks. Unlike other smartphone solutions on the market, the BMA supports two distinct modes: "Foreground Mode" where engineers and technicians run tests on smartphones; and "Remote Control Mode" where tests and SLAs are scheduled and run by backend operations teams on smartphones. This allows MNOs to select and monitor a wide range of data metrics.

"By extending BrixWorx functionalities all the way to the field technician's hand, MNOs now have the ability to measure and analyze subscriber-device KPIs in real time, detect potential service degradations and make the necessary corrections before they impact customers," said Claudio Mazzuca, Vice-President of EXFO's Transport and Service Assurance Division. "This software agent for smartphones also enables MNOs to quickly optimize their network and perform service performance tests for utmost operational efficiency."

The BMA is intended for MNOs that support all types of wireless technologies such as GSM, EDGE, UMTS (or 3G), HSPA, CDMA, EVDO and LTE (or 4G). Thanks to unprecedented visibility, this smartphone app allows MNO operations, technicians and engineers to validate the different classes of service as well as perform active troubleshooting