US : Willtek Communications today announced the new 3100 Mobile Fault Finder, a new communication test set for the testing of wireless devices on the shop floor at the point of sale, point of return, for incoming inspection in repair centres and final testing after repair and calibration. The new instrument initially supports GSM, EDGE and UMTS (WCDMA) and will be upgradable to CDMA2000 and future technologies. Together with the 4916 Antenna Coupler, the 4920 RF Shield Box and an up-to-date list for supported phones that is downloadable from the Internet, Willtek provides a complete solution to support Go/NoGo testing of the latest wireless devices like mobile phones, wireless PDAs and EDGE/UMTS data cards.

“With the 3100 and associated products and solutions, Willtek provides continued support to first-level service centres at the same high level as for the previous well-known products like the 4100 Series and 4350 Series Mobile Fault Finders”, explained Cyrille Damany, CEO of Willtek Communications.

He continued, “The 3100 is the first wireless device tester for GSM, EDGE and UMTS at a price level affordable to low and mid-level service centres. Taking our free customer support into account, Willtek offers a complete solution at an unmatched price-performance ratio, especially considering the total cost of ownership over the whole lifecycle.” – 3100 pricing starts below € 20,000.

The Willtek 3100 is a Go/NoGo tester for wireless devices designed for GSM and UMTS (WCDMA). When a customer returns a seemingly malfunctioning mobile phone, the shop assistant can easily determine if the phone is indeed defective. The test only takes a minute and helps the shop save money it would have spent on handset replacement, shipping and repair. Three levels of results provide comprehensive information: a pass/fail indication, a simple test report indicating the module that is likely to be defective, or the detailed test report with complete measurement results.

Although easy to use by non-technical personnel, the 3100 provides highly reliable test results. Willtek offers a complete testing solution for the point of sale or return and for service centres. The 3100 is complemented by the 4916 Antenna Coupler and the 4920 RF Shield Box. The antenna coupler easily connects the wireless device to the tester with a highly stable RF coupling characteristic. By using the additional 4920 RF Shield Box with its unmatched shielding of 80 dB, the user avoids that other mobile phones and nearby base stations affect the test results. Conversely, the RF Shield Box also prevents the mobile phone’s radiation from interfering with nearby base station signals. These Willtek products are readily available and supported, as Willtek provides an always up-to-date list of RF coupling factors for all common mobile phones on the Internet for easy download into the test set, for tests both with or without the antenna coupler.

About EDGE

EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for the Global Evolution) offers GSM/GPRS network operators an evolutionary path to mobile data and multimedia services, increasing data throughput by a factor of three using an improved modulation scheme within the existing GSM/GPRS spectrum. Operators without a UMTS license can offer 3G-like speed for 3G applications from a 2G network, in some cases incurring only minor costs and minimal changes to an existing GSM/GPRS network. For those operators with a UMTS license, EDGE can be a cost-effective way of offering 3G-like speed with an existing 2G network in rural areas. In both cases, expenditure on 3G equipment is minimized because some existing 2G sites and 2G equipment can be used and upgraded to EDGE via software only. In the US, 3G frequencies have not even been licensed to operators and therefore higher data rates based on UMTS are still far away. For this reason EDGE is an alternative to GSM operators to offer higher data rates.

About UMTS (WCDMA)

WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) will bring high-speed data applications such as video telephony to mobile users worldwide. It is a leading 3G mobile telecommunications technology branded as UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) and defined by the 3GPP (3G partnership project), a joint project of the international telecommunication standardisation bodies, ARIB, CCSA, ETSI, T1, TTA, and TTC.

About the Willtek 4916 Antenna Coupler

The Willtek 4916 Antenna Coupler is an essential extension to all mobile phone testers. The coupler supports extended frequency ranges for 3G mobile phone testing in addition to WLAN and Bluetooth. Using RF coupling, the 4916 allows non-wired connection mobile phone testing. The mobile phone antenna is also verified when the 4916 Antenna Coupler is used, resulting in a complete functional check of all mobile phone parts.

About the Willtek 4920 RF Shield Box

Retailers and service centres can increase their return on investment (ROI) quickly by improving accuracy of on-site mobile phone testing! The Willtek 4920 RF Shield Box supports rapid, accurate testing of mobiles without impacts of colocated base stations or adjacent mobiles. Trouble-free mobiles can then be returned to the customer in a matter of minutes, decreasing the number of phones that may be sent back to the manufacturer for further analysis!