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Importance of successful trials

The logistics of successfully planning and executing LTE trials and then getting to first deployment are complex. The trial team must:

• set the framework
• communicate with all network equipment manufacturers (NEMs)
• police the NEMs during the trial
• run test cases in a uniform way
• capture and evaluate huge volumes of data
• adapt when something goes wrong.

Successfully managing these trials will let service providers move out of initial deployments in time to beat competitors to market.

To provide measurements during LTE trials, fully integrated test platforms that provide on- the-fly measurements from the radio access network to the network core are needed. These platforms let trial teams replicate services in as many different scenarios and environments as are practical for all relevant standards and on different frequency bands. Testing can verify all functions critical to future LTE services, including data capacity and throughput, network coverage, end-to-end network latency, seamless handover with legacy networks, interoperability of multi-vendor devices, and QoS. The latest testing tools support the rapid execution and analysis of LTE field trial tests with flexible key performance indicators (KPIs), correlation of user plane and control plane data, interactive measurements with preferred UE devices, and the latest permutations of LTE standards. The tools work for all vendors’ equipment and enable “apple to apple” comparisons. The result is that operators can make LTE equipment purchasing decisions based on objective criteria.



Working through QoS issues

QoS issues are more problematic with LTE than with 3G because of the complexity of LTE technology and the inherent challenges of introducing new services. Service providers must ensure that they can identify and troubleshoot any user, service, or network problem in a very short period of time in order to deliver the highest possible standard of customer care. Potential QoS issues for LTE networks include massive increases in data usage, new radio access network infrastructure, and complexity of the network core. KPIs that provide real-time information on LTE performance and an end-to-end view that enables fast root-cause diagnosis are important factors that help resolve problems before they affect customers. To this end, network monitoring is a vital tool.