Anite to accelerate lab-based virtual drive testing for 4G and 5G technologies

Fleet, Hampshire, UK – 20 March, 2014 –Anite, a global leader in wireless equipment testing technology, today announced its participation in a project initiated by Intel, a world leader in computing innovation, to develop “virtualised” testing environments in order to accelerate 4G and 5G technology development and testing. Project Virtuoso (Virtualised environment for communication system development and optimisation), subsidised by the Danish High Technology Foundation, will run for four years and other partner companies include Telenor, one of the world’s major mobile operators, and Aalborg University Department of Electronic Systems, who will bring valuable operator and research knowledge.

Within this project, Anite aims to enhance its Virtual Drive Testing Tools (VDT) to utilise data measured in the field to “virtually” recreate the field test environment in a laboratory. This enables quick, realistic and repeatable benchmarking of devices or base stations as well as simplifying the debugging of errors found in the field.

Anite’s VDT, based on the Propsim channel emulator, is a performance testing toolset which enables chipset and device manufacturers, as well as operators, to reduce the time and money spent on device design, integration and verification.  By significantly enhancing the feedback loop from final-stage field trials to early-stage design development, the industry is able to accelerate development and launch of new mobile technologies.  

“Anite has a deep understanding of the radio channel environment and how it can be realistically simulated in the laboratory. We have been working with Anite for many years to develop cost-efficient testing methods and this new project will enable us to accelerate our verification processes, reducing time-to-market for our modem products,” says Thomas P. Horvath, Division Vice President of Modem Development at Intel Mobile Communications GmbH.

“Our collaboration with Intel will help strengthen our understanding of the design and testing challenges faced by chipset developers implementing leading edge technology” says Mike Bonin, Managing Director at Anite. He continues: “This joint project supports Anite’s long-term commitment and investment in market leading solutions for current and future mobile technologies which provide field-to-lab capability.”

Anite’s radio channel expertise has also been recognised by the METIS project, a consortium of 28 key wireless industry players, which aims to lay the foundation for 5G. Anite was selected in late 2013 to lead the radio channel modelling Task Group within METIS.