Spirent Communications says that the launch of Voice over LTE service is “imminent,” and has integrated its field testing solution with lab systems for call quality and device testing, so that carriers and mobile device suppliers can use the same testing system in live networks as in the lab.
Spirent had previously offered VoLTE call performance and voice quality testing on its CS8 Mobile Device Tester and 8100 Mobile Device Test System; now the company has integrated its field-based Nomad HD solution with the two test systems that are primarily lab-based.
Brock Butler, marketing director at Spirent, said that the last few months have been filled with VoLTE testing and that deployment of the technology is “imminently close at this point” and that operators are working on not just ensuring that their services meet technical standards, but that the user experience is as good or better for voice as it was on 2G and 3G circuit-switched networks.
“We finally have several devices that we’re testing; they work, they’re stable. We’ve got test networks. We were working with operators on both sorting out how we’re going to measure devices in the field — now we’ve got solutions in the field, and testing devices in the lab,” Butler said.
“The kind of things we were dealing with 3-6 months ago are somewhat behind us,” he added. “The technology is there, and it works.”
–Anritsu Company has it wares on display this week at the APCO public safety conference, offering test solutions aimed at helping that vertical transition from legacy Land Mobile Radio (LMR) networks.
“As public safety agencies convert legacy networks to P25, there are a host of technical challenges that must be addressed. Additionally, these mission critical networks must operate in an ever-crowded spectrum, all of which places a premium on test solutions,” said Wade Hulon, general manager and VP of Anritsu.  He added that Anritsu has been involved with the P25 standard since its inception.
