Japan-based test company Anritsu is buying channel emulation specialist Azimuth Systems for an undisclosed sum and plans to turn the company into an Anritsu subsidiary. This expands Anritsu’s overall test portfolio, and Anritsu said that it plans to integrate Azimuth’s channel emulation capabilities across Anritsu product lines.
Azimuth Systems is privately held; terms of the deal were not disclosed (pdf). Anritsu called channel emulation and the ability to generate controlled radio frequency environments in general “indispensable in lab-based testing” and added that Azimuth’s radio propagation technology “is a necessary part of evaluation and verification in research and development as well as for conformance test for mobile communications.”
Massachusetts-based Azimuth last year launched its Spider platform for scalable testing of LTE in unlicensed spectrum and other emerging applications, particularly in the context of the internet of things. It also has solutions for emulating heterogeneous network environments. Watch an Azimuth interview on Spider and Wi-Fi testing below:
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MphQMFIEHSU[/embedyt]
“Anritsu has been expanding its test and measurement business for mobile terminals by integrating fading simulator technology developed internally into its current test solutions for 3G/4G. For future 5G solutions, Anritsu will be integrating Azimuth Systems’ channel emulator intellectual property across its wireless test portfolio”, said Hirokazu Hashimoto, Anritsu CEO, in a statement. “In addition to adding key intellectual property to Anritsu’s R&D, Azimuth’s product portfolio expands Anritsu’s addressable market, including the network equipment RF performance test market. And, the regional and customer market penetration of both companies are highly complementary. I believe the combination of these two wireless test equipment leaders will contribute significantly to the realization of IoT / 5G deployment.”
In other test news this week:
–EXFO launched a new solution for identifying RF interference over the Common Public Radio Interface. The OpticalRF application for EXFO’s FTB-1 Pro test platform reduces the need for tower climbs by offering access to the RF signal via CPRI links. EXFO also said that the app lets multiple users connect to it via remote access for collaboration on identifying interference sources and troubleshooting. FTB-1 Pro, the platform for EXFO’s FTB-700G V2 series, now integrates Ethernet service validation, fiber characterization, CPRI link validation and connector endface inspection into one solution.
–Spirent Communications integrated optical switching company Calient’s technology into its Spirent Velocity test lab orchestration and automation software, to support hybrid network test beds. The addition of optical switching means that the joint solution makes it easier for companies to test variations of physical, virtual or hybrid network environments.
–Vencore Labs was awarded $5 million as part of an RF mapping program being supported by the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The Advanced Radio Frequency Mapping program, or RadioMap, is aimed at better situational awareness of RF spectrum usage on the battlefield; Vencore is developing software to support various functions of the project, which is now in a third phase that will include field testing.
Vencore described RadioMap as “intended to deliver an unprecedented level of RF information without requiring the deployment of additional radio equipment, and without interfering with the primary mission of existing radio equipment. Similar to maps that illustrate current traffic conditions, RadioMap intends to develop technology that visually overlays spectrum information on a map enabling rapid frequency deconfliction and maximizing use of available spectrum for communications and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems.”
-GL Communications has been highlighting its ability to do standards-based benchmarking of carrier-grade Ethernet services as per RFC and ITU standards.
“Service providers are shifting from only providing Ethernet pipes to enabling Ethernet services, said Jagdish Vadalia, senior manager for product development with GL, in a statement. “Networks must support multiple services from multiple customers, and each service has its own performance requirements that must be met even under full load conditions and with all services being processed simultaneously.”
