To better attend the needs of telecom engineers involved in the roll-out and upkeep of modern mobile network infrastructure, Livingston India (part of the Microlease Group), has just introduced its Wireless Tool Box.

The multitude of different communication standards now being employed in wireless networks (LTE, UMTS, GSM-900, DSC-1800 and in many cases TETRA) is making things increasingly complicated for test engineers. This issue is further compounded by the variety of base station topologies that are starting to be followed – such as remote radio head, fibre-to-the-antenna and hybrid systems (with a mix of fibre and coax cables). In addition, congestion is resulting in available bandwidth being squeezed, while greater prevalence of site-sharing is raising concerns about elevated interference.

With so many different technologies to contend with, plus heightened degrees of performance being expected, it is paramount that engineers are able to gain access to a broad array of instrumentation possessing advanced functionality and delivering better accuracy. With this in mind Livingston India is now able supply its customer base with a complete rental package made up of all the different items of equipment needed for such purposes and presenting ample scope to mix and match an expansive range of options direct from stock. Furthermore, by taking a rental approach flexibility is maximised – items can be returned when no longer required or swapped for other models if different test parameters must be addressed.

The Livingston Wireless Tool Box encompasses each of the following elements:

*Cable and antenna testers, supporting fibre optic test activities, such as the Viavi Cell Advisor (which can be offered with optical power meter functionality)

*Transmission testers, like EXFO’s FTB-880-V2, for evaluation of the consortium-backed wireless communication protocols now emerging (CPRI, OBSAI, etc)

*Short range optical time domain reflectometers (OTDRs), such as Anritsu’s MT9090, for ensuring installed fibre attains required quality levels

*Ultra-portable antenna alignment systems from 3Z and Kathrein

*Personal radiation monitors, like the Radman EMS-20, for protecting staff when in the field

*Electro-magnetic field strength monitoring equip- ment, like Narda’s SRM-3006

*Sophisticated tools for facilitating base station integration,

including Ascom’s TEMS Pocket and SwissQuall’s Qualipoc, and *Finally, the importance of combating passive inter-modulation (PIM) is increasing as next generation networks are implemented. Dual band PIM analysers, like the Kaelus ITA Series, are thus gaining greater popularity, since measuring at one frequency may not prove to be adequate.

Livingston provides and manages test equipment for companies in more than 100 countries worldwide, giving them access to leading edge products regardless of their budget constraints.