UMTS testing-- "there has been very little work undertaken on areas such as intersystem handover resulting in poor performance, such as dropped calls, especially in the 2G to 3G direction where the test cases have been given lower priority"
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Racal ups the testing case for 3G intersystem handover
By John Walko
CommsDesign.com
Jan 28, 2004
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LONDON — Areoflex subsidiary Racal Instruments Wireless Solutions (RIWS) has launched an intersystem handover test platform that it says will speed the roll-out of third generation mobile networks.
The 6401 intersystem handover (ISHO) facility for mobile handsets combines the 2G/2.5G test capabilities of the already established 6103 GPRS set-up with the new UMTS protocol test system.
"Intersystem handover has emerged as a major issue and obstacle for the timely roll-out of W-CDMA networks since there is a lack of proven, robust test products and test cases capable of handling the necessary radio access technologies", said Phil Medd, product manager of the 3G protocol test line.
"Unfortunately there is only a limited number of certified (119 out of 390) 3G test cases most of which relate to basic operational features of network and system. The sheer volume is a problem. As such there has been very little work undertaken on areas such as intersystem handover resulting in poor performance, such as dropped calls, especially in the 2G to 3G direction where the test cases have been given lower priority," said Medd.
Some test cases from companies such as RWIS, Anritsu, Rohde & Schwarz and Anite have been approved by the Global Certification Forum (GCF), with several endorsements added at a meeting of the Forum last week in Munich. The next wave, currently numbering 51 in total will be submitted over the next year. The test cases and test platform were validated by the Validation Competence Center of CETECOM, in Essen, Germany following evaluation by a leading handset manufacturer and a chipset vendor.
For intersystem handover handsets must support both radio access technologies. They must have two separate RF sections, one for each access technology and additional processing is required to cater for both modulation schemes as well as the signaling protocols.
The two protocol stacks must also work in parallel. To achieve a known and reliable level of performance thorough testing is essential.
Medd agrees that the industry as a whole has not put sufficient priority on the need for intersystem handover, but this is now having to change.
"Handover compliance and testing on 3G handsets will be mandatory from late 2004, but operators are demanding phones that hand-over seamlessly now between GSM and UMTS. The test industry needs to respond positively to this challenge, and we at Racal are certainly doing that with the launch of this protocol and conformance test bed".
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