With network equipment manufacturers seeking shorter roll-out schedules, more effective test environments and minimized launch times for LTE products, EB, Elektrobit Corporation, has announced its EB Wireless Environment Solution (EB WES) upgrade. EB WES is a virtual drive test software application running on the EB Propsim F8 radio channel emulator that re-creates a real world, live network in the laboratory environment.
It is used for testing and optimizing networks in laboratories, minimizing the need for field testing. This testing solution shortens roll-out schedules as the products are more mature at the time of field testing. For network vendors, more realistic testing scenarios allow faster product introduction.
LTE products tested with EB WES enable higher call connection rates, a higher Base Transceiver Station (BTS) capacity, minimal dropped calls and decreased spending on Quality of Service – all of which can increase profits for vendors while increasing satisfaction among end-users. As such, testing with EB WES solution enables better product performance in the live network. Real product performance testing goes beyond test cases defined in 3GPP LTE specifications. Hence, operators often have specific testing requirements to ensure better performance in live networks.
"Understanding the radio channel behavior is a key success factor in achieving optimal performance in wireless networks and devices. With wireless systems, field-testing is labor intensive, time-consuming and expensive, and test results are typically non-repeatable as external interference and uncertainties often affect the results," said Janne Kolu, vice president, Test Tools at EB. "EB WES virtual drive test solution plays back the real-world measured data, which allows vendors to accurately verify equipment faster and more reliably, translating to faster market introduction combined with enhanced product performance."
