Actix unveils world’s first Drive Test Optimisation and Benchmarking Solution for LTE Deployments

London, 19 May 2009 - Actix, the leader in Network Status Management (NSM) solutions, has today unveiled a drive test optimisation and benchmarking solution for LTE deployments. The LTE drive test product is the first available drive test solution using LTE specific measurements, marking a key milestone in the industry’s LTE deployment timeline.

With mobile operators around the world currently in the early deployment phases of new LTE networks, drive test solutions will play a critical role in enabling them to quickly and cost effectively plan, build and launch new networks. The new solution is valuable for benchmarking LTE coverage against existing networks, meaning operators can gain a complete view of all their networks further reducing the OPEX required to maintain and operate them.

“The absence of existing data on live LTE networks means that operators are in danger of ‘flying blind’ when deploying LTE,” said Chris Larmour, Chief Marketing Officer at Actix.  “Spectrum needs clearing, new cell sites need deploying and all this needs to be done while keeping CAPEX and OPEX to a minimum. Just as 3G saw a new generation of drive test optimisation and benchmarking, so LTE is necessitating an even bigger step in technology. Actix has an unrivalled track record and reputation in delivering industry leading drive test solutions, and with LTE we again set the pace with the world’s first drive test optimisation and benchmarking solution for LTE deployments.”

Actix is at the forefront of delivering real LTE solutions, having been involved since the beginning with the LTE test network in Dresden, Germany, in collaboration with the Easy-C (Enablers for Ambient Services and Systems) Group, a 4G research initiative to trial the wireless broadband technology of the future. Actix also is working with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to develop the next generation of radio access network (RAN) engineering.