Rohde & Schwarz recently teamed up with 7Layers, an international group of engineering and test centers, to complete RF and protocol conformance testing on an LTE device developed for the United States 700 MHz (3GPP Frequency Band 14) Public Safety Broadband Network.
In early 2011, the authorities responsible for public safety communications in the United States agreed to move forward with utilizing the Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless technology in the 700 MHz frequency range (3GPP Frequency Band 14) to deliver mobile broadband applications used by police, fire departments and emergency medical services. The high data rates and low latency offered through LTE networks allow a substantial improvement over existing public safety communications systems, which have been mainly designed for reliable voice communication. LTE provides first responders with the capability to stream High-Definition (HD) video, in parallel with photos and other data from a crime scene to agency personal for further analysis. Since public safety communications equipment requirements differ from the requirements of a commercial network device, public safety equipment needs to be thoroughly tested for LTE RF and protocol conformance as well as for specific user applications.
By using the Rohde & Schwarz R&S TS8980 LTE RF conformance test system, 7Layers is working on device validation and certification of an LTE device for public safety, functional in 3GPP Frequency Band 14, that’s designed by a leading, US-based international communications and information technology company.
“7Layers is privileged to work with Rohde & Schwarz to approve an LTE device for the Public Safety Broadband Network,” said Mahesh Kodukula, Validation Engineer at 7Layers. “We will utilize our expertise of LTE testing and certification using the Rohde & Schwarz R&S TS8980 test system to certify the device.”
“Rohde & Schwarz, from the very beginning, has been in close contact with key industry players and governmental authorities for public safety, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado. We are committed to provide test solutions for public safety, not only for device conformance testing, but also for network optimization,” said Anthony Opferman, Business Development Manager at Rohde & Schwarz USA, Inc.