VoLTE performance testing

Audio performance verification using PESQ® and POLQA®

For audio/speech performance testing of VoLTE and legacy standards, Rohde & Schwarz offers the right overall automation tool with the R&S®CMWrun automation software in combination with the R&S®CMW500 wireless communication tester and the R&S®UPV audio analyzer.

The R&S®CMW500 callbox tester acts as a 2G/3G and LTE network emulator. It provides integrated IMS service support plus an audio board with the standard-specific speech codecs for voice calls. The R&S®UPV audio analyzer supports PESQ/POLQA algorithms for objective audio analysis.

Battery performance test

With more and more apps running on smartphones, there is a risk that voice calls could totally drain the batteries of these mobile devices. Features like DRX (the power-saving mode in LTE) should improve power consumption a lot, but the application behavior needs to be tested and analyzed in a controlled emulated network environment.

The R&S®CMWrun sequencer software tool collects samples from the R&S®NGMO2 power supply and displays the current drain on the phone over time. Specific signaling trigger events, such as LTE attach and IMS registration, cause an increase in current consumption that is clearly visible in the current drain diagram. The current drain diagram is also correlated to events at the IP level by using IP traffic analysis (R&S®CMW-KM051), which indicates which app or IP flow impacts the battery lifetime.

Carrier acceptance test

Due to the increasing complexity of technology, leading operators have specified their own simulator-based acceptance test requirements for mobile handset testing that goes beyond GCF/PTCRB certification. These test plans cover areas such as protocol, radio resource management, data performance and location based services (LBS) and allow network operators to be confident that a device launched on their network will not cause problems and that their users will receive the quality of service they expect.

In terms of VoLTE, operator-specific test plans for IMS and VoLTE need to be passed in order to obtain operator acceptance. Rohde & Schwarz supplies solutions based on the R&S®CMW500 wireless communication tester that help mobile network operators create their own schemes for IMS and VoLTE conformance testing, as well as for audio/speech performance acceptance testing.

IMS and VoLTE conformance testing

As the IMS becomes more prevalent within mobile operator core networks, new customer and value-added features, such as VoLTE, rich communications services (RCS) and videotelephony, are attaining greater importance and are now coming to market.

Audio/speech performance acceptance testing

The audio quality of VoLTE and legacy standards such as GSM, WCDMA and CDMA2000 depends on several network and mobile device factors, including radio conditions, packet loss, packet delay, jitter and jitter distribution.