Viavi Solutions announced the availability of InterferenceAdvisor, an automated interference hunting solution which the company claims can dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes to locate mobile network interference sources.
As mobile communications proliferate, increasingly crowded airwaves lead to radio signal interference that adversely affects customer experience, and trying to identify interference sources is like finding a needle in a haystack. Technology evolution, including network densification and the Internet of Things, will exponentially grow the number of network connections, further exacerbating the problem, said Viavi.
Viavi developed InterferenceAdvisor to enable mobile network operators to anticipate and respond to these challenges, helping to optimize customer experience while managing cost. It features a light-weight, portable Omni antenna; an automated interference area indication and navigation guide; voice prompts to direct the cell technician to the suspected interference location; full spectrum control; and display for detailed interference signal monitoring – all managed from a Wi-Fi enabled Android tablet. It also includes built-in accessories to minimize the cabling requirement.
According to Viavi, InterferenceAdvisor is easy to set up and allows one engineer to quickly and easily locate interference sources, even in an urban environment.
Monica Paolini, President and Founder, Senza Fili Consulting
Densification is fundamental for service providers to support traffic loads in high-density locations such as shopping centers, transport hubs and other public areas. In many cases, service providers use small cells and Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) that share spectrum channels with macro cells. In these environments, interference may negatively impact the customer experience unless operators move to mitigate interference aggressively.
Kevin Oliver, Viavi’s Vice President and General Manager, Converged Instruments and Virtual Test
Mobile users near the interference source experience degraded call success rates, increased dropped calls, decreased battery life, poor voice quality, and reduced data throughput.
