Test and Measurement: P3 rebrands as umlaut

Network testing and engineering firm P3 Group AG has rebranded itself, taking the name of the Germanic umlaut — two small dots placed over a vowel — to symbolize itself as an agent of change. An umlaut, the company said, “changes a regular vowel into a special one, changing its focus, quality and accentuation.”

Dr. Lars Karsten, chief people and brand officer at the newly re-named umlaut, said in a statement that umlaut’s “special mark is that we help clients all over the world to change the quality, focus and accentuation of their technological capabilities and organizational culture for the better. With our new brand and its identity, we feel we have succeeded in creating a literal and visual embodiment of our unique benefit for the customer. Our new identity reflects the value we add to our clients’ organizations, service and products, and the value we attach to their highest possible satisfaction all the way through the process.”

He added that “while a small group of colleagues will remain as the consulting group P3, 4,300 of us are now emerging as umlaut.”

The company said that the name change was also a “response to clients who wish for more cross-industry collaboration and a stronger interconnection of processes and products.”

In North America, umlaut says it will focus on testing and validation, data analytics, systems engineering, project management, crowdsourcing and tech consulting services. The company has locations in Michigan, New Jersey, Texas, South Carolin, California and Oregon as well as in Montreal, Canada and Mexico City.

In other test news:

–Viavi Solutions has partnered with radio communications company Tait Communications to offer automated test capabilities for Tait’s P25 and Digital Mobile Radio series of radios on Viavi’s 3920B Radio Test Platform — which was previously an offering from Aeroflex.

–Keysight Technologies launched its PathWave Test 2020 software this week, the latest version of its software platform for design and testing of 5G, IoT and automotive technology testing. The test company ompany’s N9048B PXE Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Receiver from 26.5 to 44 GHz enabling customers to meet current and emerging compliance testing requirements according to various standards bodies, including MIL-STD-461G and FCC Part 15.

–Anritsu has added 5G protocol testing functions to its Radio Communication Test Station MT8000A, with an upgrade that includes 5G New Radio fading software for tests that simulate real-world RF environments for device testing. The MT8000A can now support such tests with its internal fader, the company said, instead of using an external fade simulator.

-The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency wrapped up its three-year Spectrum Collaboration Challenge this week at Mobile World Congress Los Angeles, with one final test event conducted live from its massive Colosseum test bed on the show floor. Read the full story here. 

-Network operator C Spire said this week that the rural-broadband-focused consortium which it founded has been working on projects aimed at figuring out how best to bridge the rural/urban broadband divide, using fixed wireless technology. C Spire said that members of the Rural Broadband Consortium including itself, Airspan Networks, Microsoft, Nokia and Siklu, recently met to review their progress and chart a plan to share their eventual conclusions and recommendations at a summit tentatively planned to be held in Washington, D.C. sometime next year. The meeting was held in Mississippi, where nearly 28% of residents lack broadband connectivity and which the group considers the “primary testing ground” of its work, since nearly half of the state’s residents live in rural areas.

C Spire said the Rural Broadband Consortium has been “working hard to deploy and test various fixed wireless technology solutions in rural areas of Mississippi, including TV white spaces, massive MIMO using 4G Band 41 LTE and C Spire’s own 5G internet product, that could potentially be used in similar broadband-challenged rural areas across the nation.”

–OpenSignal continued its analysis of the variations in mobile user experience in rural markets compared to urban ones, with a new blog post that quantifies data speed and latency differences across the country. Read our coverage here.