PCTel recently completed network testing at more than 300 domestic and international airports in order to get a good picture of the wireless operators providing the best connectivity for RFID-based luggage tracking. PCTel said that its test engineers followed bag routes from check-in through holding rooms to the tarmac and collected radio frequency measurements of tier-one carriers’ 3G and “4G” networks. The data was analyzed and compiled in reports for the airlines to help them choose the best carrier and technology for RFID scanners at each airport – as well as offering the data to the operators for network troubleshooting and optimization.
PCTel reported strong year-over-year revenue growth this week, with revenue up 6% from the same period last year to $27.6 million. However, its general accepted accounting practice-based net income was down from $545,000 at this time last year to $347,000 for the most recent quarter.
“As we have opened up new markets in China and expanded our field of play with network analytics and services, we have also been exposed to additional risks,” said Marty Singer, PCTel’s chairman and CEO, in a statement on the results. “Challenges are not new to us and we are confident in our growth in both business operations.”
PCTel recently sold mobile tower-related assets it had acquired in 2012, while introducing a new cooperative services solution with Ascom Network Testing to provide network acceptance services to streamline site acceptance, leveraging PCTel’s data analytics platform and network testing and analytics from Ascom.
• Rohde & Schwarz announced a collaboration on “5G” with Japan-based NTT DoCoMo, which plans to launch 5G technology by 2020. The partnership will include “experimental trials of test and measurement instruments … covering multiple aspects of 5G technologies,” according to R&S.
Seizo Onoe, EVP and CTO at NTT DoCoMo, said in a statement that the carrier expects the partnership “to play a considerable role in the area of 5G technology development.”
• Anritsu has launched a new cloud-based solution for tower and distributed antenna system site work and testing called SkyBridge Tools, which it describes as a “data warehouse for contractors who are installing or modifying equipment for network operators.”
The system is said to be able to store thousands of test records, site photos and other electronic documents, and provide an overview and reports, with the aim of reducing the time spent on job prep, trace judging and reporting.
Anritsu also recently reported its quarterly results (pdf), with significant year-over-year improvements. Revenue was up 6.7% from a year ago and profits increased 40%. Anritsu said in its report that the mobile test and measurement was “mainly steady” in Asia and North America, and that “investment in the construction of the LTE network in North America seemed to have run its course.” The company got a bump from its products quality assurance business in the domestic Japanese market due to concerns about food safety.
• Keysight Technologies added a real-time spectrum analysis option to its MXE EMI receiver so that spectrum emissions can be tracked during electromagnetic compatibility compliance testing. The MXE can analyze bandwidth up to 85 megahertz below 3.6 GHz, and up to 40 megahertz above 3.6 GHz, according to Keysight.
