PCTEL, Inc., a global provider of wireless technology solutions, announced its testing solution for P25 public safety radio networks with the automated uplink drive and walk testing. The majority of public safety radio coverage issues occur on the uplink, which is the signal from a handset to the radio site.
“Until now, radio network managers had no practical or reliable way of testing the uplink channel across their coverage area,” says James Zik, PCTEL’s vice president, test and measurement product management. “This solution will help radio network managers deliver more reliable critical communications coverage for public safety and emergency response teams including police, fire, and EMS.”
PCTEL’s SeeHawk Touch software incorporates uplink power and signal quality measurements into the standard drive or walk testing procedures used for network planning, troubleshooting, quality assurance, baseline, and acceptance testing. During testing, the technician activates a radio handset, and PCTEL’s SeeHawk Monitor system measures the signal received at the radio base station site. After the test is complete, SeeHawk Touch synchronises and combines uplink data with downlink measurements collected during the drive or walk test into a single report.
PCTEL announced outdoor uplink testing at IWCE, the International Wireless Communications Expo. IWCE attendees can learn more about uplink testing by attending a talk with David Adams, PCTEL’s director of market development at 11:30 a.m. on March 27 or visiting Booth #2638 March 29-30.
The outdoor uplink testing feature is expected to be released in April 2023, and will be available as a software update for existing users with current support and maintenance agreements.
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