Agilent Technologies has upgraded its drive test platform with the addition of a slew of receiver tests for Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular systems. The test system and software can be used to quickly verify LTE base station coverage in the field. The company plans to display the full measurement solution at the upcoming Mobile World Congress exhibition (Barcelona, Spain,). The hardware and software additions to the system not only support older 2G and 3G systems, but perform a host of LTE measurements, including P-SCH, S-SCH RSSI, and LTE Cell-ID testing. The measurement receiver can tackle as many as eight frequency bands, eliminating the need for band-specific test receivers.
According to Todd Biddle, Vice-President and General Manager of Agilent's Network Solutions Division, "Agilent receivers are an example of our company's general strategy of developing hardware that can be enhanced with software as network technologies evolve. This strategy cuts our customers' capital investments over the long term and, in the case of LTE receiver measurements, it enables current owners of Agilent receivers to integrate LTE testing with tests of existing networks."