By
Telecom Lead Team: Spirent Communications, a provider of wireless networks
testing solutions, announced it has added a new mobile application
performance monitoring capability to its Spirent TestCenter
Live next-generation service assurance solution.
As data demands continue to grow exponentially,
operators are increasingly highlighting application performance as a
competitive differentiator,” said Spirent vice-president of service assurance
John Cunningham. Mobile operators need a monitoring solution that helps them
proactively identify performance problems caused by this rising data demand.”
The new capability allows monitoring applications
performance, from the mobile devices on the Radio Access Network (RAN) through
the mobile backhaul into the application server/gateway in the mobile packet
core. This allows operators to actively monitor availability and performance
metrics including download speeds of web pages, on-line gaming, VoIP, SMS and
other applications.
Offering deeper insight in to high-revenue services
and applications, Spirent TestCenter Live gives operators the ability to
optimize operations resources that support these applications, by proactively
identifying and fixing problems before they escalate.
By carrying out testing from the mobile device, network
performance is more visible with Spirent TestCenter Live, because issues such as dropped calls or connection problems
can accurately be evaluated. When combined with Spirent TestCenter’s test and
diagnostics capabilities, alarms are generated that enable the operator to
quickly isolate and resolve the source of problems in the RAN or in the mobile
backhaul.
The solution can be deployed utilizing agents on
smartphone operating systems, on USB dongles/cards for laptops, and/or on
dedicated probes inserted directly in the RAN. All of these devices push active
traffic through the network in order to measure performance of application such
as downloads, DNS, video and gaming. The testing frequency and thresholds can
be customized to match their service performance criteria.
Operators using Spirent TestCenter Live for mobility
testing can quickly minimize downtime and performance degradation, which can
directly improve revenue. It also reduces customer dissatisfaction and
turnover, to the further benefit of revenue streams and continued investment in
4G LTE networks.
At the Mobile World Congress Spirent also
announced the expansion of it LBS LTE test solution to support LTE
Positioning Protocol (LPP) and Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA).
Please
see the complete coverage of Mobile World Congress here
