Ercom Teams with InfoVista for Improved LTE Network Emulation and Radio Planning

LTE (News - Alert) is technology for mobile communication. High speed data downloads, video sharing, and mobile TV are possible with this 4G last mile access technology. But the increasing complexity in LTE is demanding high level of testing capabilities during product development and system quality assurance. Network emulators play a great role here.

Going by the demand, Ercom, a provider of 4G LTE eNodeB validation and optimization solutions, signed a partnership agreement with InfoVista, the specialist in IP and RF planning, assurance and optimization software solutions, to develop the first demonstration platform that combines the realism of radio planning data with the dynamic and load capability of real-time emulation.

“A realistic LTE network emulation solution is key to improving network performance as it allows for lab testing that truly emulates real-world performance," Guy Lecurieux Lafayette, vice president, Marketing at Ercom said in a statement.

"Our approach, for example, allows a mobile operator to test the performance of a LTE network in a dense urban city like Tokyo and anticipate the user experience in the field, considering thousands of subscribers in a complex heterogeneous environment," Lafayette added.

Ercom and InfoVista’s demonstration platform bridges together radio planning data and load emulation in the lab, to allow enhanced emulation of field conditions, and a better quality prediction of network coverage. Both the companies are of the opinion that this new approach can reduce the risks and costs of deployment through improved control in the lab while using real network conditions.

With this integration, Ercom and InfoVista is taking network emulation to the next level and are paving the way in new areas of validation and optimization, such as field replay for better troubleshooting, virtual drive test, eICIC benchmarking, and multi-vendors network support.

“This collaboration with Ercom allows us to help mobile operators in their quest to increase the performance of their radio access networks,” Bernard Breton, senior vice president, Americas & APAC sales and chief marketing officer, InfoVista said in a statement.

Ercom’s Mobipass includes thousands of emulated UEs with embedded Advanced MUCE, a unique per-UE RF channel emulator designed with scheduler testing in mind.