Europe : Aeroflex announced that it has added a new option to its highly successful 6113 base station tester for GSM base stations with an A5/3 encryption capability. The Aeroflex 6113’s support for the latest A5/3 GSM encryption algorithm provides a field portable and easy-to-use base station test solution for installation and commissioning, routine maintenance and fault finding, as well as final unit production testing. Support for the A5/3 encryption algorithm complements the 6113’s existing support for the A5/1 and A5/2 algorithms.

The A5/3 encryption algorithm supplies signaling protection so that voice calls, user-generated data and other sensitive information, such as telephone numbers, are protected over the radio path. The algorithm was designed by the Security Algorithms Group of Experts (SAGE) within the European Telecommunications Standards Institute rd

Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)’s (ETSI), based on the requirements of the 3 Working Group SA3. A5/3 was further developed with the support of the GSM Association, 3GPP and the U.S. T1 Standards Committee.

“With over 2,000 units already deployed worldwide, the Aeroflex 6113 base station is regarded by most GSM operators as the industry-standard base station test tool,” said Ross Broadhurst, product marketing manager, Aeroflex Test Solutions, Wireless Division. “The addition of A5/3 algorithm support further extends the wide range of test and measurement functions available on the Aeroflex 6113 that facilitate the fast manual or automatic testing of all major base station types.”

About Aeroflex
Aeroflex Incorporated is a global provider of high technology solutions to the aerospace, defense, cellular and broadband communications markets. The company’s diverse technologies allow it to design, develop, manufacture and market a broad range of test, measurement and microelectronic products. Aeroflex Incorporated, founded in 1937, is a privately held company with more than 2,600 employees worldwide.