Agilent Technologies Inc. announced that its wireless test equipment has been chosen by Centro de Tecnologia de las Comunicaciones S.A. (CETECOM Spain) to be part of CETECOM’s WiMAX conformance test system.


The WiMAX Forum, which promotes and certifies broadband wireless products, chose CETECOM Spain as its certification laboratory for WiMAX conformance and interoperability testing. The WiMAX standard (IEEE 802.16-2004) is quickly emerging as an important specification for broadband wireless fixed-access technology.

CETECOM will use the Agilent E4438C ESG signal generator with N7613A Signal Studio software and the Agilent 89600 Series vector signal analyzer (VSA) as part of its system to test and certify WiMAX-compatible base stations and user equipment.

“We have selected the Agilent VSA and signal generator for the WiMAX Radio Conformance Tester, not only because they provide all the standard-compliant measurements and tools required to develop the test system, but also for their flexibility and easy integration in a laboratory environment,” said Jose de la Plaza, wireless laboratory manager at CETECOM Spain.

“We began working with the WiMAX community long before the standards and test procedures were finalized,” said Ken Voelker, Agilent VSA product manager. “Thanks to our many beta-test partners, our products reflect a solid industry consensus of the key measurements and how they are to be performed.”

The ESG signal generator and Signal Studio software together provide pre-configured and user-configurable WiMAX waveforms that developers can use to stimulate their WiMAX components at frequencies to 6 GHz.

The VSA has the ability to measure the different WiMAX equipment profiles with bandwidths from 1.25 MHz to 28 MHz, at frequencies from baseband to 11 GHz and beyond. It also supports advanced WiMAX features such as sub-channelization. Agilent previously announced an upgrade option to the VSA that will support mobile WiMAX (IEEE 802.16e), the part of the standard for mobile broadband communications that is currently under development.