Epitiro to test LTE network performance
A project to test and benchmark the performance of LTE mobile networks around the globe is to be undertaken by broadband performance analyst, Epitiro.
The first LTE network was launched in Sweden by TeliaSonera in December 2009, with subsequent rollouts taking place across Europe and North America, by operators including Vodafone (Germany), NTT DoCoMo (Japan), CSL (Hong Kong) and Verizon (USA). Additional networks are also planned in countries ranging from Nepal to Kenya to Columbia.
“We’re hoping to see fast download speeds and great VoIP voice quality,” said Jon Curley, CTO of Epitiro. “LTE is in its infancy, so benchmarking is essential to determine what’s realistic under real world conditions.”
The LTE specification supports downlink peak data rates of at least 100 Mbps, an uplink of at least 50 Mbps and RAN round-trip times of less than 10 ms. Curley stated that, “even running at a fraction of the stated figures will be a great improvement over existing mobile broadband sevices. It will be interesting to see how quickly operators increase capacity, throughput and data caps.”
Epitiro will release its first LTE geo-spatial coverage and performance map during Q1 2011.
Epitiro launched the world’s first smartphone-based LTE test application in January 2011. This runs on consumer devices and monitors LTE networks across the entire range of usage scenarios, including in-building, in-motion (rail or car), city centres and rural locations.
Network parameters including throughput, jitter, packet loss and latency will be tested, as will the customer experience quality of applications including web browsing, VoIP and video streaming.
The LTE Test App for Android smartphones and tablets is an anonymous, scalable, easy to deploy means for mobile network operators and regulators to analyse IP performance.
It can be downloaded to dedicated test phones for quality of service testing, or deployed instantly to thousands of subscriber smartphones for nation-wide coverage and analysis.
Testing from a handset gives operators greater flexibility and removes the need for expensive and cumbersome test equipment.
Real time data will be made available to network managers, capacity planners, customer experience managers and marketers.
Epitiro will be demonstrating its ipQ Mobile Broadband Analysis platform with the LTE Test App at Mobile Broadband Asia, 28-30 March 2011 in Singapore. Gavin Johns, CEO, will present "Managing Mobile Broadband Service Quality of Experience" on 30th March 2011 at 14:00 during the show. More
More information on Epitiro’s ipQ solution and the LTE Test App can be found at http://www.epitiro.com/solutions/access-networks/3gpp-lte.
