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Introduction

The complexity of wireless networks will increase more quickly in the next five years than it did in the previous fifteen due to the rapid advent of broadband service. These networks will need to quickly move from supporting voice-centric to implementing data-intensive applications. This urgency comes from the need to defray the steep entry costs paid by wireless operators worldwide. The progression from fixed desktop applications to mobile office with hand-held devices requires a far more robust and flexible network, with richer content, than simple circuit switching technology permits. To be useful and profitable, the content provided by these connections will need to be timely, topical and customized to the needs of the user. Customers will demand always-on connections, ready at a moment’s notice. As these new networks integrate third-generation (3G) technologies, they will increasingly migrate toward data-optimized, packet-switched topologies from current voice-optimized network design.

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Previous technologies for test access in wireless networks are proving to be insufficient for the widely-distributed, heavily-loaded, mission-critical networks toward which wireless carriers are evolving. The days of telecom testers laboriously searching through equipment racks for test ports, while network downtime mounts, have changed. Customer expectations of higher quality service mandate a stronger focus on testing and service assurance, as well as proactive monitoring programs to track network performance and resolve network problems before they become network outages.

Deployment of a Network Test Access (NTA) system maximizes the ROI on planned 3G networks by ensuring more cost-effective and efficient test access and service. At the same time, NTA solutions reduce costs associated with maintaining and upgrading legacy networks.

Designing test access into emerging 3G networks represents the best way to ensure rapid deployment, minimize incident response time and gain efficiency in testing. As wireless networks evolve into multi-vendor, super-regional entities, new testing methods must be used to ensure standards compliance, network performance and uninterrupted service. The service demands of 3G networks include more sophisticated content, more demanding users and, ultimately, fulfillment of service level agreements (SLAs), which have become common in non-wireless networks. To support these goals, a test access approach must make test equipment deployment:

                    -easy for any authorized user to access

                    -comprehensive, to meet all testing needs

                    -secure, to ensure control of the test environment

                    -vendor-independent, to ensure that any type of hardware or software can be used for testing

-technology-agnostic, to assure common procedures are used in whatever type of network is deployed

                    -scalable, to ensure response levels as the network grows in scope as well as speed

                    -rapid, to maximize responsiveness and minimize downtime

By designing test access into its 3G network architecture, a network operator carrier can ensure that efficient testing and trouble resolution will be provided during evaluation, optimization and at launch. Furthermore, by considering NTA at the time the network is defined, testing can be automated and included in legacy OSS (Operational Support System) implementations. This inclusion allows network operation centers to gracefully incorporate the new networks into their operations, minimizing training requirements and allowing broader testing availability. Finally, including NTA in the initial design of a network, or network expansion, eliminates service interruptions, which may be caused by retrofitting test access into a live network.

As networks grow more complex and expand geographically, the value of centralizing testing has become evident. In a geographically compact network, moving test equipment and test expertise to the relevant network link is an easy task. However, as networks become more widespread or complex, this task becomes more difficult, time consuming and error prone, relying on both tester proximity and equipment availability. Designing NTA into the network architecture allows remote deployment of both equipment and testers, enabling rapid resolution of testing issues and network problems. For example, data applications have a high incidence of transient problems that may disappear by the time local testing is performed. Through extremely rapid test deployment, NTAS reduces "no trouble found" occurrences. This rapid response, combined with effective action, results in increased network uptime. As performance improves, it becomes practical to address requests for Service Level Agreements in a carrier’s standard service offering.

Remote test access can have the further benefit of providing a testing solution that is not tied to any specific technology, vendor or method. Carriers can use whatever type of test equipment that meets their needs and budget while maintaining the ability to easily incorporate new testing equipment or hierarchies as needs change. Software programs can even mask the different technologies used within the network, leading to shorter learning curves for testers and greater productivity from all testing resources. NTA fits within most standard OSS (Operational Support System) models, and allows extension of the efficiencies and control gained by an OSS into more areas of the network.

NTA provides a more efficient use of test equipment because individual test equipment can be leveraged across an entire section of the network. This ensures test equipment is always available when and where needed and eliminates delays due to transport or field usage. The number of testers with access to each device can be increased, allowing immediate test activities of network segments from a remote location. Furthermore, when test equipment is available and accessible, testers are free to use test equipment throughout the network for proactive monitoring.

The need for fast and efficient test access is documented by the Gartner Group, which in 2000 predicted that during the 2000-2005 period , spending on the network infrastructure and buildout will grow at 2 to 3 times the rate of spending on personnel managing the network

As new 3G networks are proposed and constructed, the complexities associated with managing wireless networks increases. Recognizing the need for Network Test Access (NTA) solutions will result in lower maintenance costs and increased network uptime by providing a means for improved network management through efficient and effective test deployment, even from remote locations. Inclusion of NTA during the planning phase of network deployment eliminates issues associated with retrofitting and allows "first minute" monitoring of the network. Customers’ increased demands for service quality will be effectively met with a test access system that supports proactive monitoring and rapid response to network issues for a maximum ROI.