Europe
: Together with the Japanese telecommunications giant NTT DoCoMo,
Inc., Rohde & Schwarz has developed the first package of test
scenarios to test interoperability between the NTT DoCoMo network
and third-generation mobile radio phones. The goal is to achieve interference-free
operation of the various mobile radio phones under real network operating
conditions. Plans have been made to develop further test cases by
autumn 2005.
At the end of
January 2004, Rohde & Schwarz and NTT DoCoMo signed a contract
to develop test cases for third-generation mobile radio. As contractually
agreed, the test specifications, developed by NTT DoCoMo, have now
been implemented in the first 80 test cases by Rohde & Schwarz.
During the implementation of these test cases, Rohde & Schwarz
worked with its subsidiary Rohde & Schwarz Systems & Communications
Asia Pte. Ltd. in Singapore. These test cases ensure that different
mobile radio phones will interoperate smoothly with 3G telecommunication
networks. The test scenarios comply with the protocol standard of
the official 3GPP test specification. NTT DoCoMo believes that these
test scenarios will prove to be an invaluable pre-IOT tool for user
equipment vendors.
The implemented
tests are based on network settings in practice. Therefore, for typical
application cases, they test the various protocol layers simultaneously.
Interoperability between a mobile radio network and user equipment
is ensured only when a parameter set is tested while all protocol
layers are interacting. Rohde & Schwarz also supports test cases
that comply with the 3GPP test specification. These test cases test
every single protocol layer of a mobile radio phone to check for compliance
with the standard.
The test cases
largely reflect the real conditions of a telecommunications network
that is ready for operation. With these test cases, users can worldwide
implement interoperability tests for the mobile radio network. Consequently,
it is no longer necessary for user equipment to be tested strictly
on-site at the network operator. This reduces test time and costs.
The test scenarios
contain all expertise that NTT DoCoMo has acquired while putting its
3G mobile radio network into operation. Rohde & Schwarz is the
ideal partner for development since it plays a leading role in the
development of the official 3GPP test specification. By autumn 2005,
Rohde & Schwarz plans to develop approximately 185 further test
cases together with NTT DoCoMo.