PCTEST Selects Spirent for Industry’s First Over-The-Air Testing of GPS in LTE Devices

Spirent’s 8100 Location Technology Solution Enables Leading Test Lab to Offer a One-Stop-Shop for Radiated GPS Testing over CDMA, GSM, UMTS and LTE

Sunnyvale, Calif. – March 22, 2011 — Spirent Communications, a global leader in testing wireless networks, devices and services, today announced that PCTEST Engineering Laboratory will use the Spirent 8100 Location Technology Solution for Over-the-Air (OTA) testing of GPS in LTE and multi-mode devices. PCTEST is a CTIA Authorized Testing Laboratory (CATL) for certification and is also authorized to carry out third party certification testing for leading wireless operators, including Verizon Wireless.

OTA testing under real-world conditions can help identify and isolate potential antenna performance and design issues which have a direct impact on the user experience of location-based services (LBS), and which can be very costly if discovered after commercial device deployment. Combining Spirent’s GPS OTA test system with PCTEST’s anechoic chamber implementation provides the industry’s first and only solution for measuring the GPS performance in LTE devices over the air. The solution includes Spirent’s LTE Network Emulator, GPS Simulator and test automation software to help replicate real-world LTE network and GPS satellite conditions in the lab.

“Offering the first OTA testing capability for GPS in LTE devices catapults PCTEST’s technical leadership into the forefront of 4G testing of mobile devices.” said Andrea Zaworski, Laboratory Manager at PCTEST. “Our partnership with Spirent enables PCTEST to provide comprehensive testing solutions for device manufacturers and service providers across multi-radio access networks. Spirent’s solution provides a single platform for A-GPS OTA testing across all air interfaces, LTE, CDMA, GSM, and WCDMA, saving time and reducing cost.”

The potential of location-based services to generate revenue growth has made support for location technologies such as GPS a ‘must-have’ in LTE smartphones, tablet and other devices. However, the complexity of LTE devices as well as their need to support and perform well across multiple positioning and cellular technologies is a major testing challenge. For example, the spectrum bands used for some LTE deployments in North America create the potential for interference with GPS signals.

“Testing for LBS performance in the radiated environment is the best approach to characterizing LTE and GPS interaction, because radio and platform interference is most apparent when the actual antennas are used in the testing,” said Brock Butler, Location Technology Product Management Director at Spirent Communications. “We are building on Spirent’s long-term relationship with PCTEST in this space, enabling them to extend their current high-volume GPS OTA device testing beyond CDMA and UMTS to LTE devices”.

Built upon the expertise gained from Spirent’s PLTS, launched into the CDMA market in 2001, the 8100 Location Technology Solution was the first commercially-available A-GPS test system for UMTS and now for LTE. Since then, most of the world’s largest network operators, together with all the major mobile device and A-GPS chipset manufacturers, have relied on the Spirent’s location technology solutions for design, test and certify their LBS solutions.

For more information please visit http://www.spirent.com/Devices-and-Equipment/Over_the_air.aspx