Spirent Communications, a provider of performance analysis and service management solutions, has announced new packaged configurations targeted at WiMAX and LTE developers. The new packages support bi-directional Multiple-In, Multiple-Out (MIMO) and beamforming testing on the industry leading Spirent SR5500 Wireless Channel Emulator, which is used for testing wireless receivers.
MIMO and beamforming are crucial aspects of next-generation wireless technologies. Both techniques use multiple antenna configurations to increase data rates, decrease operational costs, increase range or steer signals toward areas of high user density.
Spirent's SR5500 platform is said to let mobile network operators, equipment manufacturers and device manufacturers reduce the complexity associated with WiMAX and LTE testing while improving the accuracy of test results. With the new Spirent SR5500 configurations, users can quickly and accurately validate the performance of even the most complex MIMO and beamforming implementations. The new configurations also feature Spirent's exclusive Dynamic Environment Emulation (DEE) to perform a lab-based equivalent of mobility drive testing, including the scenarios recommended by the WiMAX Forum. Unlike drive-testing on live networks, Spirent's DEE offers repeatability and the flexibility to design and execute custom scenarios.
"By utilising our unique configurable, modular building blocks and DEE features, our customers can quickly construct complex MIMO test beds with a single user interface to accurately characterise the performance gains of beamforming," said Rob VanBrunt, vice president of marketing at Spirent. "These capabilities have made us the price-performance leaders, which is why the Spirent SR5500 is used by the top five WiMAX chipset vendors, infrastructure vendors and the leading WiMAX operators worldwide."