Features
Real world challenges in deploying LTE networks
03 December 2010
Testing throughput to ensure high speed mobile broadband services
This article will review the technical issues related to throughput on an LTE network, from both base station and handset sides, and then discuss the techniques being introduced in the industry to measure throughput. Finally, it will analyse some typical results of throughput testing to explain how this relates to the design of LTE base-stations and handsets. It has been written by Jonathan Borrill, Director of Marketing Strategy, Anritsu.
The mobile industry is now heavily focussed into two key areas of development and innovation, firstly in applications and services driven by innovative new product technologies such as touch screen and user friendly operating systems, and secondly in providing affordable but attractive subscription packages to encourage use of these innovations. Behind the success of this lies the need to provide users with a high speed data/browsing experience that enables easy use of the services, but with cost efficient networks and technologies. To enable this, there are new technologies in LTE to achieve very high data rates and efficient use of radio spectrum such as OFDMA and Resource Scheduling. A key testing technology behind this is the measurement of "throughput" on a device to measure the actual data rates achieved in certain conditions in the network.
