SUNNYVALE, California, February 10 /PRNewswire/ --

- Tests Using Spirent 8100 System Reveal Critical Results in First Independent Test of Its Kind

Spirent Communications plc (LSE: SPT) and Signals Research Group, LLC (SRG) today announced the findings of the industry's only independent HSPA chipset data performance benchmark and mobile handset call reliability tests, run on a Spirent 8100 Mobile Device Test System. Results of the tests led SRG to conclude that there remains a wide variation of data performance capability across the HSPA chipset supplier base, with performance differences in excess of 30 percent between two similarly configured chipsets when more challenging network conditions exist. The results also revealed dramatic differences in the ability to reliably make and maintain a voice call across commercially-launched 3G handsets despite the fact that all devices in the call reliability tests had passed the industry-standard conformance testing necessary for certification.

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For the HSPA data performance benchmark test, we used the Spirent 8100 to subject all the devices and chipsets to the exact same sets of network conditions, automatically repeating each test multiple times to generate statistically significant, objective results, said Michael Thelander, CEO, Signals Research Group. Based on our analysis of the data, one baseband chipset solution emerged as the clear performance leader, outperforming all other solutions in 10 of the 12 more challenging network scenarios which involved fading. The results clearly illustrate that testing chipset and device performance beyond minimum certification requirements uncovers performance differences which can significantly impact a subscriber's satisfaction with a particular device.

SRG's call reliability tests analyzed the ability of a handset to set up and subsequently maintain a voice call under a range of typical network conditions, including those experienced during a soft handover. These tests, using the UMTS Call Reliability test functionality of the Spirent 8100 system, examined the performance of commercially-released devices including Apple's iPhone(TM) 3G, together with other 3G handsets from LG, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson. Although subscribers that experience incomplete or dropped calls tend to blame the network, these test results highlight the important contribution made by the performance of the device.

The HSPA chipset performance benchmark test, which included pre-commercial and commercial Category 8 (7.2 Mbps) and Category 6 (3.6 Mbps) HSPA chipset solutions from Ericsson Mobile Platforms, Icera, Infineon, InterDigital, Motorola, NEC, Nokia and Qualcomm, leveraged the UMTS Data Performance test capability of the Spirent 8100 system. The tests measured the downlink and uplink data throughput of each chipset at the physical and application layer under a wide range of realistic network conditions. The test scenarios, based on test specifications from the 3GPP, included various static conditions as well as industry-standard pedestrian fading and vehicular fading conditions, with the downlink and uplink throughput tested separately, as well as simultaneously.

To demonstrate performance capabilities in an unencumbered network with ample backhaul, SRG had previously conducted live network tests on many of these solutions in Telstra's Next G HSPA network in Melbourne, Australia. The results demonstrated the potential of HSPA Category 8, with individual devices achieving sustainable data rates of nearly 6 Mbps and peak data rates of nearly 7 Mbps, with combined throughput across two devices exceeding 8 Mbps in a single HSPA radio channel. However, SRG's analysis of the results also revealed some of the challenges and limitations associated with conducting performance benchmark tests in the field.

A complete analysis of the HSPA chipset performance benchmark and mobile handset call reliability tests is available in Signal Research Group's latest report. For more information please visit www.signalsresearch.com.

Spirent Communications will be demonstrating its 8100 UMTS Data Performance and Call Reliability test systems next week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Spirent's booth is located in Hall 1, stand C14 at the February 16-19 event.

For more information on the Spirent 8100 Mobile Device Test System visit www.spirent.com/go/8100.

About Signals Research Group, LLC

Signals Research Group, LLC is a US-based research consultancy that is focused on technology and operator business case analyses for the wireless industry. In addition to providing consulting services for its clients, SRG publishes a research product called Signals Ahead with a distribution list that spans five continents and the entire wireless ecosystem, including the largest mobile operators, the major infrastructure suppliers, leading handset manufacturers and semiconductor IC suppliers, mobile content providers, as well as financial institutions. SRG recently published an exhaustive 1,000 page next-generation network economics study which analyzed the network economic implications of several next-generation network technologies (EV-DO Rev B, HSPA/HSPA+, Mobile WiMAX, LTE) across sixty-five countries and under a wide-range of deployment scenarios, including full mobility, nomadic, semi-fixed and fixed. More information about SRG, including contact information, can be found at its website (www.signalsresearch.com).

About Spirent Communications plc

For more information visit http://www.spirent.com/news/about_spirent.cfm.

CONTACT: Sailaja Tennati of Spirent Communications plc, +1-770-432-3225, sailaja.tennati@spirent.com; or Michael Thelander of Signals Research Group, +1-510-338-1284, mike@signalsresearch.com

Sailaja Tennati of Spirent Communications plc, +1-770-432-3225, sailaja.tennati@spirent.com, or Michael Thelander of Signals Research Group, +1-510-338-1284, mike@signalsresearch.com. Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080909/CLTU016LOGO