Quintech Electronics & Communications, Inc. has revealed that several Canadian wireless service and equipment providers have successfully adopted Quintech NEXUS matrix switches for automating base station, antenna, and user equipment interoperability and certification tests in their laboratories.
Quintech’s NEXUS line of test matrix switches passes LTE and WiFi signals with a frequency range between 600 to 6000 MHz. Since 2012, Tier 1 Canadian service and equipment providers adopted three bi-directional switch models into their labs: the NEXUS 3000/4000/Wi-5G fully non-blocking matrix, with integrated splitting and combining per port, the NEXUS-L fan-out/splitting matrix, with integrated splitting per port, and the NEXUS-R fully blocking matrix.
The NEXUS 3000/4000/Wi-5G allow quick setup of multi-MIMO configurations and lab emulation of deployed networks using the integrated variable attenuators to set signal strength between cells. The solid-state switches and attenuators require no calibration, and provide repeatable and reliable results. The NEXUS matrix switches are used in the interoperability and certification test labs, e.g. to certify burst network speeds in carrier aggregation configurations, to test successful handoff of calls and data between cell towers and to test and debug firmware and applications over new and legacy network configurations.
Quintech also offers the Q-LAAMP lab management software for the NEXUS 3000/4000/Wi-5G. This software package allows an administrator to use the matrix switch as the gateway for a lab. The administrator can create users, schedule times when these users are active, and configure which ports the users are allowed to use. The administrator can run the laboratory with minimal attention once the Q-LAAMP is set up.
David Chan, Quintech Electronics’ Vice President of Sales & Marketing, noted that the wireless service and equipment providers chose the NEXUS product lines for their labs due to the integration of multiple functions — splitting, combining, attenuation, and signal sensing — in a compact chassis that allows them to quickly emulate many different network configurations to rapidly test and debug their network equipment, software and system configurations. Regression tests are completed faster and with greater quantity in the time allotted, and they are able to successfully launch new network equipment and applications on time and with less first release issues.