7Layers Prepares for CTIA Mandate with Market Leading A-GNSS Over the Air (OTA) Test Solution

Sunnyvale, Calif.– (July 1,  2015) — 7Layers, a Bureau Veritas company and an international group of engineering and test centers for the wireless industry, has selected Spirent’s A-GNSS Over the Air (OTA) test solution to enhance its location technology testing capabilities and prepare for upcoming CTIA A-GNSS OTA test mandates. This collaboration comes at an important time as the CTIA will be releasing version 3.5 of its OTA test plan requiring both A-GPS and A-GLONASS in the second half of 2015 with the Spirent OTA test solution providing support for both.

Conventional A-GNSS testing performed over a cabled RF connection provides a limited view of GNSS performance, as it bypasses the mobile device’s antenna and associated circuitry. In contrast, OTA testing introduces a controlled test setup in either an anechoic or reverberation chamber that incorporates all interaction factors between the radio and the rest of the wireless environment. This approach offers complete antenna characterization and performance analysis required for critical location-based applications such as VoLTE E911 and for ensuring compliance with both CTIA test plans and wireless operators’ device performance requirements.

“Spirent s helping to shape location test standards and their strength in the OTA space directly complements our commitment to providing leading-edge location test services to our customers” said Fernando Rodriguez, Chief Operating Officer at 7Layers. “Through this partnership, we look forward to providing deeper insights into device performance, thereby enabling our customers to successfully meet upcoming test requirements, such as those mandated by CTIA A-GNSS OTA v3.5, in a timely fashion.”

“Spirent has been a long-standing contributor to the definition of Over The Air Test methodology and the development of OTA test plans with various standards bodies.  We see this as a critical approach to evaluating services being deployed now and future services on the 5G horizon where the form factor of wireless devices is evolving in areas such as wearables and Connected Car In-Vehicle Systems (IVS)” said Saul Einbinder, vice president of marketing for Wireless at Spirent Communications.  “Working with 7Layers, an expert in smart device test environments, is an important step in adopting the A-GNSS OTA test methodology and providing the industry with a lab equipped to enable accurate, repeatable, and uniform location testing of wireless devices to ensure they meet the CTIA Certification standards.”

Backed by Spirent’s extensive expertise in positioning technologies, the 8100 LTS A-GNSS OTA solution supports a wide range of radio access test areas and numerous GNSS systems including GPS, GLONASS and Galileo. The design is based on flexibility of usage and allows users to add test capabilities including automation as they need them. 

Additional Resources

• Solution Overview:

  Over the  Air (OTA) testing of mobile devices in the lab is a key enabler of fast and accurate A-GNSS performance 

• White Paper:

  A-GPS Over-the-Air Test Method - Business and Technology Implications White Paper