mimoOn GmbH, a leader in software defined radio solutions for advanced wireless standards, and CETECOM, a worldwide recognised solution provider for the mobile communications industry, today announced the world’s smallest Test-Mobile implementation for 3GPP LTE.

The hardware is optimized for minimal footprint (13cm x 16cm x 2cm), as well as for processing power and power consumption; enabling the same Test-Mobile design to be easily evolved to a fully functional mobile handset platform when LTE becomes pervasive in the marketplace. The baseband is implemented on the Sandbridge Technologies’ SB3500® processor, recently announced as the world’s first LTE capable and dynamically reprogrammable multimode SOC, an ideal platform for handsets and data cards. The radio frequency section can support multiple bands through easy front-end upgrades. Channel bandwidths of 20MHz, multiple MIMO configurations, data rates of 100Mbps in Downlink and 50 Mbps in Uplink direction and high trace data rates will all be supported. The PHY and protocol stack software will all be fully featured based on the Release 8 36.XXX series specifications from 3GPP.

In addition, the mimoOn/CETECOM solution is entirely software defined, so it is easy to modify or customize even after being deployed – an important feature as the standards for the protocol layers will continue to be revised well into 2009.

CETECOM validates and certifies the design according to industry, regulatory, and environmental standards, including IOT tests against different infrastructures. A highly responsive organisation within CETECOM will support LTE rollout and trouble shooting with the available experience of past network rollout and expert knowledge of the test UE.

“As leading service operators plan to deploy LTE networks in 2009, the major roadblock is the availability of small form-factor and low-cost Test-Mobile platforms for system testing, radio planning, network optimization, operation and maintenance,” stated mimoOn’s CEO Thomas Kaiser. “Today’s LTE prototypes are bulky and not suited for easy portability and testing in the field; the new innovative design will expedite the rollout of LTE and bring the advantages of true mobile broadband to the consumer” he continued.

“Developing a Test UE based on SDR technology will enable us to deliver a product and services with unique features like negative testing and variation of RF profiles to simulate bad UEs or ‘rainy days’,” added Klaus Matkey, CTO of CETECOM.

Further Test-UE (User Equipment) capabilities will include coverage measurements, interference measurements, performance data such as QoS readings, and scanner functions. Trace and logging capabilities will be offered through a graphical user interface, configuration display and control, and automated testing will be available through scriptable interfaces, real time charting, capture, and playback.

mimoOn and CETECOM will show the LTE SDR Test-Mobile at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from February 16^th to 19^th 2009 on stands no. 2.1D16 and 2A83/2A78 in hall 2 respectively.

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SANDBRIDGE, Sandblaster and SB3500 are registered trademarks of Sandbridge Technologies, Inc.