WIRELESS NETWORKS – RESOURCE HUB
Simplified test and reporting processes designed to redefine efficiency and maximize productivity.
Say goodbye to complex test applications, manual reporting processes and repeat truck rolls. Achieve automated first-time-right results regardless of technician experience level.
Enhance network performance and optimize ROI through improved maintenance and troubleshooting processes, within budget and without compromising on quality.
Gain real-time visibility into job quality and progress, ensure optimal resource allocation and performance while efficiently generating closeout reports.
Antenna alignment
Precise antenna alignment plays a vital role in deploying and maintaining high-performance radio access (RAN) networks. It’s key to ensuring peak RAN performance, with optimal signal quality, reduced downtime, and a better user experience.
Our RAN Toolkit now includes the AAT Mini Antenna Alignment Tool from Sunsight tailored for contractors and mobile network operators (MNOs). By combining expertise, we offer a top-tier solution helping to ensure that installations and physical site upgrades meet RF design specifications, giving tower crews the assurance that the job is done right from the start.
Learn more:
Fiber issues
Fiber inspection, proper fiber cleaning and fiber-link validation are critical steps to guaranteeing 5G network performance. When fiber link issues are detected, it’s critical to fix problems to get service up and running fast.
How EXFO helps:
- FIP-435B: wireless scope enables connector certification in one step.
- FIP-500: autonomous scope quickly inspects multifiber and single-fiber connectors.
- Optical Explorer: verify fiber-optic link health and troubleshoot potential issues in seconds.
- OTDRs with iOLM: automation and intelligence speeds up the location of a fiber cut, faulty connector or bad splice.
- Optical Power Expert: power meter with industry-leading features including Bluetooth connectivity and wide touchscreen.
SFP-related issues
Non-functional or incorrect SFPs can impact network performance and cause network disruptions leading to downtime and service outages. SFP issues include defective, degraded and aging SFPs, incorrect or incompatible SFP types and optical overload. And with such a wide variety of transceiver types—from 1G to 100G and beyond—there’s a lot to manage and validate.
How EXFO helps:
Radio issues
Operators must ensure that radios are installed correctly across the entirety of their wireless networks. Fiber connected to the wrong radio, loss of power, defective radios and configuration issues are all problems that can impact quality of service.
How EXFO helps:
- FTB 5GPro: Perform radio link validation using CPRI/eCPRI BERT to ensure proper installation and operation of radios.
- iORF: Intelligent RF-over-CPRI application, fully automated testing approach for complete analysis of the RF spectrum transmitted over fiber with easy-to-understand, pass-or-fail verdict. Zero-configuration required, saving over 45 min. in set-up time.
PIM and RF interference
Identifying and mitigating the sources of RF interference or passive intermodulation (PIM) and determining whether it's internal or external can be challenging. Resolving these issues requires skilled technicians with extensive knowledge of RF systems and specialized equipment.
How EXFO helps:
- FTB 5GPro: includes RF spectrum analysis over CPRI and real-time RF spectrum analysis with over-the-air measurements (OTA).
- iORF: intelligent RF-over-CPRI application provides automatic detection of internal or external PIM in less than 5 minutes, with no configuration required—10 times faster than any other RF-over-CPRI solution. Used together with ConcealFab’s PIM mitigation products, it enables faster resolution of PIM issues.
- 5GPro Spectrum Analyzer: RF interference hunting with audible tone for effective PIM and external interference detection in a compact, field-portable platform that’s simple to use. Supports both 5G and 4G/LTE networks covering FR1 (sub-6 GHz) and FR2 (mmWave).
Timing and synchronization issues
Timing and synchronization issues can introduce errors, reduce capacity, cause intercell interference and disrupt communication between the radio and user equipment—ultimately impacting QoE. However, as radio access networks grow in complexity with a higher number of sites and small cells being deployed, characterizing synchronization can be tedious and time-intensive. Moreover, with the rise of TDD-based based 5G deployments using C-band spectrum, stringent timing and synchronization measures will be required to prevent interference and ensure performance.
How EXFO helps:
FTB 5GPro: Simple-to-use test methodology for timing and synchronization validation over fiber (1588-PTP, SyncE and Wander/TE) and over-the-air measurements can be performed using the same platform. Absolute time error results from multiple PCIs can be taken simultaneously and are available at a glance, without the need to connect to network equipment.
Fiber Triple Play
With EXFO’s Fiber Triple Play, you can quickly and accurately solve fiber-related problems—the root cause of over 80% of wireless network problems. EXFO’s Fiber Triple Play includes:
- FIP-500: single-fiber and multi-fiber connector inspection
- Optical Explorer: optical fiber multimeter for fiber validation
- Optical Power Expert: optical power meter with built-in visual fault locator
Tie it all together with cloud-hosted capabilities for sharing results and enforcing compliance through EXFO Exchange. For details please contact us.
The EXFO Advantage
EXFO works closely with mobile network operators, contractors and equipment manufacturers to design innovative solutions that improve test processes—from the fiber to the antenna and beyond. We achieve this using automated, flexible test tools that are scalable by design and fit for purpose, delivering accurate test results across the network construction, activation and maintenance stages. Get to the root cause of network outages in record time using simplified testing and reporting processes powered by EXFO.
