Signals Research Group Report Finds Dramatic Di...

SUNNYVALE, California, February 10 /PRNewswire/ --

    - Tests Using Spirent 8100 System Reveal Critical Results in First
Independent Test of Its Kind



    Spirent Communications plc (LSE: SPT) and Signals Research Group, LLC
(SRG) today announced the findings of the industry's only independent HSPA
chipset data performance benchmark and mobile handset call reliability tests,
run on a Spirent 8100 Mobile Device Test System. Results of the tests led SRG
to conclude that there remains a wide variation of data performance
capability across the HSPA chipset supplier base, with performance
differences in excess of 30 percent between two similarly configured chipsets
when more challenging network conditions exist. The results also revealed
dramatic differences in the ability to reliably make and maintain a voice
call across commercially-launched 3G handsets despite the fact that all
devices in the call reliability tests had passed the industry-standard
conformance testing necessary for certification.



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    "For the HSPA data performance benchmark test, we used the Spirent 8100
to subject all the devices and chipsets to the exact same sets of network
conditions, automatically repeating each test multiple times to generate
statistically significant, objective results," said Michael Thelander, CEO,
Signals Research Group. "Based on our analysis of the data, one baseband
chipset solution emerged as the clear performance leader, outperforming all
other solutions in 10 of the 12 more challenging network scenarios which
involved fading. The results clearly illustrate that testing chipset and
device performance beyond minimum certification requirements uncovers
performance differences which can significantly impact a subscriber's
satisfaction with a particular device."



    SRG's call reliability tests analyzed the ability of a handset to set up
and subsequently maintain a voice call under a range of typical network
conditions, including those experienced during a soft handover. These tests,
using the UMTS Call Reliability test functionality of the Spirent 8100
system, examined the performance of commercially-released devices including
Apple's iPhone(TM) 3G, together with other 3G handsets from LG, Motorola, and
Sony Ericsson. Although subscribers that experience incomplete or dropped
calls tend to blame the network, these test results highlight the important
contribution made by the performance of the device.



    The HSPA chipset performance benchmark test, which included
pre-commercial and commercial Category 8 (7.2 Mbps) and Category 6 (3.6 Mbps)
HSPA chipset solutions from Ericsson Mobile Platforms, Icera, Infineon,
InterDigital, Motorola, NEC, Nokia and Qualcomm, leveraged the UMTS Data
Performance test capability of the Spirent 8100 system. The tests measured
the downlink and uplink data throughput of each chipset at the physical and
application layer under a wide range of realistic network conditions. The
test scenarios, based on test specifications from the 3GPP, included various
static conditions as well as industry-standard pedestrian fading and
vehicular fading conditions, with the downlink and uplink throughput tested
separately, as well as simultaneously.



    To demonstrate performance capabilities in an unencumbered network with
ample backhaul, SRG had previously conducted live network tests on many of
these solutions in Telstra's Next G HSPA network in Melbourne, Australia. The
results demonstrated the potential of HSPA Category 8, with individual
devices achieving sustainable data rates of nearly 6 Mbps and peak data rates
of nearly 7 Mbps, with combined throughput across two devices exceeding 8
Mbps in a single HSPA radio channel. However, SRG's analysis of the results
also revealed some of the challenges and limitations associated with
conducting performance benchmark tests in the field.



    A complete analysis of the HSPA chipset performance benchmark and mobile
handset call reliability tests is available in Signal Research Group's latest
report. For more information please visit www.signalsresearch.com.



    Spirent Communications will be demonstrating its 8100 UMTS Data
Performance and Call Reliability test systems next week at the Mobile World
Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Spirent's booth is located in Hall 1, stand C14
at the February 16-19 event.



    For more information on the Spirent 8100 Mobile Device Test System visit
www.spirent.com/go/8100.



About Signals Research Group, LLC

    Signals Research Group, LLC is a US-based research consultancy that is
focused on technology and operator business case analyses for the wireless
industry. In addition to providing consulting services for its clients, SRG
publishes a research product called Signals Ahead with a distribution list
that spans five continents and the entire wireless ecosystem, including the
largest mobile operators, the major infrastructure suppliers, leading handset
manufacturers and semiconductor IC suppliers, mobile content providers, as
well as financial institutions. SRG recently published an exhaustive 1,000
page next-generation network economics study which analyzed the network
economic implications of several next-generation network technologies (EV-DO
Rev B, HSPA/HSPA+, Mobile WiMAX, LTE) across sixty-five countries and under a
wide-range of deployment scenarios, including full mobility, nomadic,
semi-fixed and fixed. More information about SRG, including contact
information, can be found at its website (www.signalsresearch.com).



About Spirent Communications plc

For more information visit http://www.spirent.com/news/about_spirent.cfm.

    CONTACT: Sailaja Tennati of Spirent Communications plc, [phone],
[e-mail]; or Michael Thelander of Signals Research Group,
[phone], [e-mail]