Majority Of European 3G Operators Deploy Axis

Inset : Generate network performance reports for throughput, coverage and quality for each burst rate

Europe : Actix announced that the majority of the wireless operators across Europe to have launched pre-commercial or commercial UMTS 3G Networks, have deployed Actix 3G solutions to assist in troubleshooting, optimization and rollout of their new networks.

European wireless operators using Actix UMTS 3G solutions include Hutchison 3G UK, Hutchison 3G Italy, Mobilkom, Vodafone Ireland, Swisscom, Orange France, and Cegetel. A key feature of Actix solutions is the ability to present a revealing overview of market-level performance information while still enabling access to the detailed underlying engineering information and intelligence necessary to accurately diagnose and resolve service problems.

This capability enables drill-down from sector or cell level statistics through an individual packet data session to a specific message or signalling bit. It is made possible because the performance data is based on capturing the actual signalling messages which contain detailed protocol information and the solution's architecture associates these messages with the high level performance statistics. As a result operators have direct and easy access to diagnostics data which can be used to actually solve problems, not just detect them.

Michael Schmocker, Senior Engineer, UMTS Performance Management, Swisscom, said, “Almost all the hardware and software technology involved in deploying a UMTS 3G network has been developed recently, which makes it more challenging than deploying a 2.5G network. When working with such a wide range of new technologies, it is critical to be able to interpret the data being generated by the network and captured by a variety of data gathering tools. While Actix’ solutions are functionality-rich, they can also be used straight out of the box. Actix’ UMTS product portfolio has been developed from a base of understanding that exists from the company’s previous and ongoing development of its GSM and GPRS products. It is an established product that does not have basic functionality difficulties that many of the other newer tools have.”

Fritz Klinger, Head of Division Operation and Maintenance, mobilkom austria said, “We chose Actix solutions because they understand the technical issues that mobile network operators face, and they have the solutions to help us build and develop a mobile network that will deliver a reliable service to our customers. Quality of service is fundamental to the successful uptake of next generation services, and Actix’ solutions are essential for the optimization of our network. By analyzing and optimizing our network now, we can be confident of delivering a high quality service to our customers.”

Rob Dobson, CEO of Actix said, “Given the complexity of 3G technology, it is hugely impressive how quickly operators have been able to, and are bringing both pre-commercial and commercial UMTS networks online. To mitigate the many risks associated with the planning and launch of these UMTS networks, operators are looking to make the best possible use of network performance data and to take advantage of open interfaces and other early stage sources of data. By providing the solutions to enable operators to implement functions like the embedding of infrastructure acceptance processes in software, Actix is helping to put optimal wireless performance and intelligent service delivery within operators’ reach.

Actix’ vendor-independent architecture, enables operators to impartially interpret and visualize the massive amounts of data generated by test User Equipment, including wideband scanners and receivers and drive test equipment and test mobiles from all equipment vendors. This allows operators to verify their 3G RANs in the pre-commercial phases, troubleshoot service levels, and optimize the capacity of their commercially launched network.

Actix’ solutions also enable operators to embed complex infrastructure acceptance processes into software. This is particularly important for operators that are trying to optimize the size and productivity of their engineering teams, and also because with new technologies like UMTS, many of the engineers have to learn about the technology as they work with it. Embedding processes in software enables operators to reduce the cost of acceptance, provides an impartial platform for verifying rollouts, and accelerates the time to acceptance and the subsequent launch of services. It also helps reduce operational expenses for operators and facilitates improved quality of service for customers.

Reducing the cost of rollout by reducing the need for manual drive testing is another key function that can be implemented using an Actix 3G solution. Engineers can trace performance information across the radio network, from the air interface to the core network, giving them the ability to identify subscriber, handset and Internet destination-specific problems.

Actix’ open interfaces not only enables operators to impartially interpret date from a wide range of vendors’ test and data gathering equipment, but also gives operators the ability to relate and interpret data from different networks on the same platform. This is key for operators because it enables them to analyze and optimize the handovers that occur between 2G and 3G networks.