HONG KONG, Nov. 16, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- 3G World Congress and Exhibition 2005 -- Booth No. 1341 -- Aeroflex (Nasdaq:ARXX) has launched the world's first commercially available test system for HSUPA, providing full support for the latest 3GPP Release 6 High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) wireless technology. HSUPA is the latest enhancement to the Aeroflex TM500 Test Mobile system. It delivers extensive HSUPA/HSDPA system functionality long before commercial handsets become available. The TM500 is well established as the industry standard test tool for 3G infrastructure design and development testing. The TM500 is now part of the Aeroflex portfolio following the company's recent acquisition of the UbiNetics Special Products Group in Cambridge, England.
"The TM500 HSUPA implementation represents the latest in the line of cutting edge technologies to be supported on the TM500 Test Mobile system," said Nick Hallam-Baker, Aeroflex product manager responsible for the Test Mobile products. "Aeroflex has already achieved HSUPA calls between the TM500 and 3G infrastructure equipment at data rates in excess of 700kbps and we have demonstrated rates up to 5.76Mbps using commercial test equipment."
HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology is already providing a major improvement to the downlink capacity of the latest 3G networks. HSUPA will deliver a similarly important enhancement to the uplink through the introduction of higher throughputs, reduced latency and higher spectral efficiency. By offering data rates up to 5.76Mbps and reduced packet latency in the uplink, HSUPA paves the way for a wide range of wireless broadband data services including video, gaming, VoIP, and instant messaging.
HSUPA presents numerous challenges to the infrastructure developer. In addition to supporting new features to enable efficient reception and decoding of the uplink data, the Node B is responsible for managing the spectral resource. The Node B controls the uplink loading by means of a scheduling algorithm that allocates grants to each mobile terminal, indicating the amount of data that it is allowed to transmit at any time. The addition of soft handover support in HSUPA serves to improve uplink efficiency but increases scheduling complexity.
The TM500 HSUPA test system implementation delivers full support of 3GPP Enhanced Uplink technology, enabling detailed operation, testing and analysis of complex packet-based services and applications. Uplink and downlink data services can be configured and run simultaneously on the TM500 at the maximum HSUPA and HSDPA rates of 5.76Mbps and 13.97Mbps respectively.
Structured development and test programs are essential for the verification, validation and optimization of HSUPA infrastructure. The TM500 HSUPA addresses these issues through a wide range of test modes and logging options, including scripted configuration, test sequences and measurement capture. These features allow a detailed and incremental analysis of functionality at Layer 1, Layer 2 and higher layers. Test procedures can also be automated for use in regression testing.
Innovative test features assist the 3G engineer in Node B and RNC development and regression test. These include Aeroflex's new Data Service Generator tool, allowing the creation of realistic usage profiles of packet-based services including voice, web-browsing and gaming applications. Additionally, flexible configuration options for serving and non-serving radio links enable the effects and operation of soft handover scenarios to be analyzed in detail.
Availability
The TM500 HSUPA Layer 1/Layer 2 option is available for immediate delivery as a software upgrade to the TM500 test mobile platform. The 3GPP Release 6 Higher Layer option will be available in Q1 of 2006.
About Aeroflex
Aeroflex Incorporated is a global provider of high technology solutions to the aerospace, defense, cellular and broadband communications markets. The company's diverse technologies allow it to design, develop, manufacture and market a broad range of test, measurement and microelectronic products. The company's common stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol ARXX and is included in the S&P SmallCap 600 index. Additional information concerning Aeroflex Incorporated can be found on the Company's Web site: www.aeroflex.com.
About Aeroflex Test Solutions, Wireless Division
Aeroflex Wireless offers a full range of protocol, physical layer and parametric test solutions for the cellular communications industry. Its products address infrastructure and mobile handset testing and support all stages of mobile phone and radio access network equipment development and deployment. Applications include R&D, conformance, production, installation and commissioning, field service, and network optimization. Aeroflex's wireless products test all key 2G, 2.5G and 3G wireless technologies including UMTS, cdmaOne, CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA, GSM, GPRS, and EDGE worldwide.
All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release regarding Aeroflex's business strategy and plans and objectives of its management for future operations are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend" and similar expressions, as they relate to Aeroflex or its management, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs of Aeroflex's management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to its management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including but not limited to, competitive factors and pricing pressures, changes in legal and regulatory requirements, technological change or difficulties, product development risks, commercialization difficulties and general economic conditions. Such statements reflect our current views with respect to the future and are subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Aeroflex does not undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking statements.
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