NB-IoT: Overview of Internet of Things with a focus on NB-IoT (part 1 of 6)

Use cases for the Internet of Things (IoT) are virtually unlimited. They include smart homes and buildings, wearables and smart fabrics, healthcare, telematics, smart cities, smart factories, and so on. This post provides an overview of current technologies with a focus on IoT developments made by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).  When it comes to mobile network testing in…

Read More

Mobile Network Testing Forum 2017 event video

The 7th international Mobile Network Testing Forum (MNT Forum) at Rohde & Schwarz headquarters in Munich, Germany, attracted more telecom professionals than ever before: over 180 attendees from 33 countries took part in the unique bi-annual mobile network industry event made by experts for experts. The forum provided an ideal opportunity to discuss the most pressing topics in the cellular…

Read More

Monitoring network performance is key to accessing 5G enterprise market

Whilst the ITU and 3GPP may still be finalizing the 5G specifications and it is not yet clear there what the 5G network will actually look like, at least we know the 3 target use cases for 5G: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine type communications (mMTC). For operators, monitoring network performance in real…

Read More

Democratizing network monitoring – independent performance reporting using service quality monitoring

As services aimed at enterprise and industry verticals increase in number and diversity, growing importance is placed on the ability of those customers to verify that they are receiving the throughputs, latencies, coverage, and capacities they have paid for. Moreover, operators need to demonstrate they are delivering according to their service level agreements and have real-time awareness of network performance issues. A…

Read More

How temperature affects system design: the basics (part 1 of 3)

In system design, temperature is a crucial factor to be considered. It can affect signal integrity, user equipment, and ultimately user experience. Our systems have to work at -40°C (-40°F) for our customers in Canada and Russia as well as at +45°C (104°F) for our customers in Dubai. This wide temperature range of 85°C (144°F) is very demanding on any…

Read More

What is the market for voice telephony in 2017?

In competition with messaging services and Facebook and Instagram timelines, is voice telephony at all relevant in 2017 and beyond? We believe: yes, absolutely! Telephony is still the most direct and most efficient way of telecommunication. Apart from being an auditory interaction, voice still transports much more emotion – and opportunity for clarification – than any emoticon ever could. Or,…

Read More

Smart macro network enhancements: higher-order sectorization

The various macro network enhancements available today offer a cost-efficient and smart approach to increase the capacity in mobile networks. In the previous 3 parts of this series, we discussed the two hardware-related capacity-enhancing features carrier aggregation and 4×4 MIMO, and we covered antenna tilt optimization. The final part of this series looks at yet another antenna approach to optimize…

Read More

Harmonizing user interfaces: user role management (part 3 of 3)

User roles are important for security. They can also be useful for matters of simplicity, however. We use them, for example, to tailor the user interface of our smart drive test benchmarking solution in order to simplify the handling. But first things first: What is the purpose of user role management? User role management is predominantly used for role-based access…

Read More

HetNets/Small cells: indoor installation (part 3 of 4)

With network planning and network design in the can, the small cell deployment’s most critical phase begins: the actual indoor installation and commissioning. Or did you know that more than 50% of subscriber issues originate in the antenna system? Many of these faults don’t necessarily trigger an alarm at the Operations Support System (OSS), at least not until a critical level…

Read More