ATIO signs exclusive WiMax distributor agreement with Mobile Metrics

ATIO, a leading South African-based information communication technology (ICT) service provider is proud to have signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Houston, Texas-based Mobile Metrics, the manufacturer of the Torrent 7100, 7200 and Airscan 750 WiMax test tools.

“Mobile Metrics is a technology leader in the market for wireless data testing. The selection of the Airscan 750 as the interoperability test standard by the WiMax Forum pays testament to that. In general their solution in the WiMax space complements ATIO's performance management services perfectly and allows us to offer an additional unique WiMax performance management solution to our customer base,” says Tim Courtenay, MD of ATIO's telecoms division.

The Torrent 7100 WTS provides traffic and conformance testing of the Access Service Network Gateway and the Connectivity Service Network, focusing on the R6, R4 and R3 interfaces, while the Torrent 7200 WTS tests base stations, mobile stations and end-to-end networks over the 802.16e R1 interface. The Airscan 750 offers real-time protocol monitoring and analysis and is able to tap into all the WiMax interfaces, correlating the traffic into a single stream allowing the user to follow the traffic as it passes through the various interfaces. This message decoding capability is unique and is something that WiMax operators need now to analyse and manage their WiMax service performance. "The Torrent and Airscan are ground-breaking WiMax test systems, and through our relationship with distribution partners such as ATIO and other world-class operators and equipment manufacturers, we will continue to innovate in this area," says Cecil Taylor, Mobile Metrics Vice-President of Sales and Product Management.

“Our target market includes WiMax service providers and equipment vendors in Africa. ATIO is proud to be able to offer these products in Africa, which is unique in its growth potential because of the current wireless, broadband and leased line substitute potential of WiMax. WiMax is an exciting technology and ATIO is proud to be part of this new generation communication system. The Mobile Metrics application set emulates WiMax network elements and devices of up to a million users. It has the ability to test the WiMax wireless link plus core network elements. This includes compliance and performance testing of Customer Premises Equipment, Application Services Network and Core Services Network.” concludes Courtenay.

WiMax is regarded as a fourth generation wireless digital communication system with quality broadband access for both fixed and mobile usage. The WiMax Forum estimates that there are more than 300 network deployments around the world, with a forecast of over 130 million users by 2012. While much debate focuses on the battle between WiMax and existing cellular technologies, the fact is that WiMax networks are being rapidly deployed in Africa to meet the demand for data connectivity.

The Mobile Metrics technology works well with fixed and mobile networks and the benefits are enormous including improved network quality, better rollout success, pre-launch testing for new products and applications, decision support for vendor selection and continuous performance management.