As an indication that LTE is moving towards commercialisation, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has confirmed it is conducting end-to-end interoperability testing with four LTE device manufacturers.
The company said that the tests covered a number of steps in end-to-end network configuration based on commercial LTE hardware, including the Flexi Multiradio base station, the Evolved Packet Core and standard compliant software in the AWS, 700MHz and 2100MHz frequency bands.
"NSN is playing an important role in the LTE ecosystem by enabling leading device vendors to conduct early LTE interoperability testing," said Marc Rouanne, head of radio access for NSN. "Our focus is on commercial LTE hardware and software to support early commercial LTE deployments worldwide."
The company said the tests were taking place at its LTE competency centre in Dallas, US, in close cooperation with research and development sites in Ulm, Germany, and Oulu, Finland.
Separately, the newly appointed head of its US division, Sue Spradley, said that its Dallas site was being used to trial LTE for a large customer, speculated to be T-Mobile US. Despite not having gained a role in the high-profile Verizon Wireless LTE contract, Spradley claimed it was "not the end of the world", and that NSN would "be a leader in LTE in this [US] market."
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Timescales for LTE devices on the slide