PCTEST Lab selects R&S to expand its testing capabilities as 4G heats up

PCTEST Engineering Laboratory Inc. (PCTEST LAB), an accredited testing laboratory for wireless testing and certification, has purchased a second R&S TS8980FTA-2 conformance test system and several additional R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication testers to cover key next generation technologies. PCTEST's expanded test capabilities support new conformance and carrier acceptance test requirements for IMS, VoLTE, RCS, WiFi Offloading, E911 over IMS, SUPL 2.0, LTE A-GNSS, OTDOA, and eCID.

While there are many conformance and carrier acceptance tests developed for LTE and LTE-Advanced features such as carrier aggregation, much of the focus right now is turning towards IMS enabled applications such as VoLTE, RCS and E-911 over IMS. VoLTE represents a major technology shift that brings along a wave of new testing requirements for devices. Wireless carriers and device manufacturers need to ensure that these new VoLTE-enabled devices deliver a high quality of experience; as good as what customers' have come to expect with current 3G voice/data services delivered in a circuit switched environment.

Another area of conformance and carrier acceptance testing that is quickly changing is location based services (LBS). 3GPP Release 9 has incorporated enhancements to improve indoor positioning, which is critical for many new mobile applications and services. New positioning technologies and techniques, such as observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA), LTE positioning protocol (LPP), and the ability to use additional satellite constellations (i.e. GLONASS), all bring about additional protocol and performance testing requirements.

"Today we use Rohde & Schwarz for protocol, data performance, RF and RRM testing covering a number of key legacy and next-generation technology areas such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE and LTE-Advanced," says Randy Ortanez, President of PCTEST Lab. "However, we are now seeing a new wave of conformance test applications being driven by IMS and LBS that will require new test plans that can be developed and implemented quickly. With their excellent product portfolio and support, Rohde & Schwarz is helping us meet these fast changing market needs."

Rohde & Schwarz is exhibiting its wide portfolio of testing solutions at Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona at booth B50 as well as booth C40 in hall 6.