The release of the first mobile LTE testing equipment has been announced by Epitiro.  The application is available for Android handsets from the Android App store and is available for download to test phones for QA trial runs, and also to thousands of smartphones owned by subscribers for analysis and testing.

The flexibility for operators and regulators being able to take LTE readings in city centres, buildings, cars and other specific environments used by subscribers is obvious.  LTE-enabled 4G mobile smartphones can deploy the LTE Test App from Epitiro instantly, as can tablet devices from the likes of HTC, Cisco, Acer, and Motorola. 

A number of network parameters are tested by the application, including packet loss, latency, jitter, and throughput.  Applications such as VoIP, video streaming and web browsing can also be tested for quality and radio parameters such as 3G or 4G signal quality recorded.  Real-time test data is presented on the online dashboard and analysed with the accuracy of GPS into plotted geo-spatial maps.  This is the ipQ Mobile Broadband Analysis platform of the device, making the taking and interpretation of accurate readings in any situation a simple and convenient process. 

The types of people who will benefit from data presented in this format include capacity planners, marketers, network managers, and customer experience managers, and the data itself can be sourced from an operator’s competitors for the purposes of benchmarking as well as from its own networks.

The aim of the test app and the platform are to create a test solution for LTE equipment that provides complete coverage in real-time, according to Jon Curley of Epitiro.