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Aeroflex Helps Accelerate Delivery of LTE Mobile Devices with Testing for Simultaneous Voice and Data

24th March 2011

ES Admin

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Aeroflex Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aeroflex Holding Corp. (NYSE:ARX), announced today the addition of critical voice and data testing capability for the 7100 LTE Digital Radio Test Set. The Aeroflex 7100 Option 104 now has added test capability for simultaneous emulation of LTE data and 1X CDMA voice, which is known as SV-LTE (Simultaneous Voice–Long Term Evolution). The ability to test a voice channel and an LTE data channel within a single test system simplifies mobile handset testing. Simultaneous voice and data is a key performance technology that enables network operators to offer customers the advantages of LTE’s high data rates while maximizing the return on existing investment in current networks to provide widespread, cost-effective voice calling.

As LTE operators shift from supporting data-only devices to deploying mobile LTE handsets based on multiple radio access technologies (RAT), there is increasing demand for these devices to support voice call services over legacy 3G networks. Simulating both RATs in a single test system reduces test set up complexity and speeds up testing time.

The successful testing of SV-LTE is an important step in the three-phase rollout of LTE. In phase one, LTE networks are supporting only data-centric devices such as USB modems. In phase two, handset devices are being added that rely on fallback technologies (WCDMA or 1X CDMA) for voice support. The third stage will introduce handset devices using the LTE network for both data and Voice over IP (VOIP) for the voice solution. Aeroflex test systems support operators during each phase of the rollout.

“Aeroflex has long supported CDMA, and since the 7100 was introduced it has become a market leader in LTE device test. As the LTE rollout continues, Aeroflex supports LTE operators as they test more complex multi-RAT capabilities on LTE devices,” said Michael Thorpe, product manager, Aeroflex Test Solutions.

Test capabilities with simultaneous emulation

Some of the key areas of testing include verifying the performance of the device while both data and voice are being transmitted and received—for example, testing the data throughput performance of the LTE link while verifying the 1X CDMA audio link.

The 7100 with Option 104 allows the engineer to verify:

· Data throughput/performance—to determine any impact on speed or latency;

· Voice—to ensure that there is no loss of audio or audio clipping due to the processing load;

· Protocol—to confirm that both RAT protocols operate successfully and do not impact each other’s message exchange or timing;

· Battery performance—to determine how the battery life is impacted due to SV-LTE.

In addition, the 7100 provides integrated protocol logging and decoding both RATs, an important feature for device/chipset developers.