Enables equipment manufacturers and carriers to test lu-based femtocells in real-world network scenarios

Barcelona, Spain — Aricent, a full-service, full-spectrum communications software company, today announced the launch of its Femtocell Deployment Practice. Femtocells are in-building base stations designed to improve the quality of indoor wireless reception for cellular consumers. These low-power wireless access points are currently being tested by carriers and equipment manufacturers for mainstream rollout. The Aricent Femtocell Deployment Practice combines customizable off-the-shelf test suites and specialized testing services to enable mobile network operators and equipment manufacturers to accelerate the seamless integration and large-scale deployment of lu-over-IP femtocell solutions.

“For femtocells to be commercially successful, the industry is focused on delivering ‘zero touch’ configuration and management. In reality, this means that the integration and interoperability testing requirements are arguably higher than for any other operator-deployed equipment,” said Ajay Gupta, vice president of the wireless and convergence business unit, Aricent. “The Aricent Femtocell Deployment Practice delivers strong 3G and UMTS technical expertise combined with a proven track record in femtocell product development, so that communications equipment engineers can do their jobs faster and more efficiently than ever before.”

Aricent’s Femtocell Deployment Practice enables equipment manufacturers and operators to test a range of scenarios and network configurations before deploying femtocells in their live networks. Specifically, the service provides a testing framework encompassing 3GPP-defined test cases for different deployment scenarios, such as peak call volume hours and emergency calls. By simulating the core network the Femtocell Deployment Practice allows service providers to undertake detailed lab and field testing of their femtocell solution, from the device to legacy and new core elements such as aggregator and secure gateway.

Aricent’s expertise in both network management systems and lab and field trials testing (including system test plan, test strategy, test bed set-up and executing system testing) enables femtocell service providers to ensure complete interoperability with their core network. The Femtocell Deployment Practice will enable the development and testing of ease-of-use features such as plug-and-play, remote access and auto-configuration capabilities, all key to the successful delivery of femtocells to consumers.