Now is the Time to Move on to Automated Active Testing

As prices have increased in various sectors, wireless service providers need to find cost-effective and reliable ways to secure network services in critical locations and ensure excellent customer experience in the form of great service and high-speed network connectivity.

Automated, remote-controlled active testing enables more efficient resourcing as technically advanced personnel can focus on actual problem-solving and network development tasks instead of spending time in the field. A single user can monitor and control in real-time numerous fixed and mobile field units from a centralized location, enabling immediate response to alerts and errors.???

In this article, we will start by taking a closer look at some of the use cases where remote monitoring and automation can be especially useful. After that, we will highlight some of the real-world customer problems that we have solved with our remote monitoring solution. Finally, you will learn more about Nemo Industry Probe and Nemo Active Probe, two technically superior active monitoring probes that Keysight recently introduced to the market.??

Roaming Testing

Mobile network subscribers are demanding the same quality of experience service, regardless of their location. As both business and leisure travel have gradually recovered after COVID-19, mobile operators need to assure that quality of service is provided as expected for their subscribers when they are traveling abroad. Operators also need to perform inbound roaming testing to make sure that they are offering the best possible service to visitors in their network. A testing solution for inbound roaming needs to provide testing infrastructure to run roaming tests effectively and in a fully remote-controlled manner. To achieve this, maximum automation in test execution is needed.????

Automation brings the most value in situations such as when an operator has dozens of test units globally and all of those must run test sequences against each other. In such cases, we are easily talking about more than 1000 individual test cases. Test sequences are typically executed as a one-time test cycle or run periodically according to pre-scheduled plan. In this case, configuring test cases every time manually is not feasible, and all testing must be fully remotely controlled. Keysight’s Nemo remote monitoring solution combines detailed and comprehensive measurement capabilities with proven automated and fully remote-controlled functionality.???

24/7 Monitoring

Posting on social media and connecting during memorable moments in large sports events or concerts, streaming videos, or browsing social media while commuting in a train, bus, or taxi during rush hour. Many of the situations in which a flawless mobile connection is meaningful to end-users are also challenging to the network as a large number of users connect at the same time in the same location.

When striving to guarantee end-user satisfaction, mobile operators may face challenges such as how to ensure end-to-end quality of service (QoS) visibility across Access, Edge, and Core layers in their 5G SA and NSA networks, and how to automate quality of experience (QoE) testing as part of continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD) in the network rollout process.?

In 24/7 monitoring, Nemo probes can be installed in fixed key locations, hotspots, or vehicles to conduct continuous test campaigns. The beauty of the solution is that it scales according to your needs. You can perform nationwide, or even global campaigns, or install just a few probes in the most critical key locations. The user can define customized alerts and receive notifications in real-time about problems in the network. The solution proactively detects network degradation issues before customers do and helps to ensure end-user satisfaction by providing excellent connectivity to customers in locations where they spend time, during moments that matter to them.

The benefits achieved with 24/7 monitoring with Keysight’s Nemo remote monitoring solution are clear. With our mobile operator customers, we have proven results that CI/CD process has accelerated significantly, and?network testing time has been reduced by 20% and manual field-testing work by 80%.

In addition to the traditional mobile operator use cases, remote monitoring can help to solve also some more surprising customer challenges.??

Sail Away with Good Network Coverage

In the first example, a maritime company wants to offer good network coverage to their cruise passengers on all their cruise routes worldwide. The company collects data on the network coverage of different mobile operators with Nemo probes that can be deployed discreetly in several locations around the ship.

After collecting the data, the company is well prepared to negotiate contracts with the best-performing mobile operators. Later, the company will monitor the actual network coverage. If the mobile operators have not met the agreed service level, the maritime company requires improvements to the network and discounts to their billing based on the data.?

Keep Unauthorized Network Use Locked Away

In the second example, a prison needs to block any communication between prisoners or access to the outside world by using cell phones. They need to verify that the network blocking software is working properly and ensure that prisoners are unable to use any public mobile networks inside the prison.??

This is a good example that, in addition to monitoring that the network is performing well, Keysight’s Nemo remote monitoring solution can be used to monitor that unauthorized use of mobile networks inside of a certain building or area is prevented.?

Wireless service providers, Industry 4.0 operators, and national regulators have two technically advanced options to choose from for automated service assurance, end-to-end quality of experience and quality of service verification, and active testing in private and public 4G and 5G networks. Read below about Nemo Active Probe and Nemo Industry Probe and find out which solution is more suitable to your needs.?

Nemo Active Probe for High-Volume Deployments

Keysight’s Nemo Active Probe is an ideal solution for performing automated, large-scale measurements. It can be deployed discreetly in fixed locations, such as airports, offices, campuses, and shopping malls as well as in moving vehicles, such as trains, taxis, delivery trucks, and ships.??

Nemo Active Probe provides reliable 24/7 measurements across a range of environments. Effective thermal control with a fan and active cooling element ensures that your 5G test devices do not overheat and remain functional during long-lasting test campaigns. The deployed Nemo Active Probe units can be upgraded with the latest terminals ensuring flexible and future-proof autonomous testing of the latest technologies.?

Nemo Industry Probe - Only Industry 4.0 Compliant Active Monitoring Solution in the Market

To ensure critical communication in private 5G networks in industry use cases such as smart factories and warehouses, Keysight has introduced a unique Industry 4.0 compliant remote monitoring solution, Nemo Industry Probe.??

Nemo Industry Probe has been designed to perform unattended, remote-controlled measurements even in harsh indoor environments. As reliability is critical for industry use, the probe units have effective thermal control with active cooling to keep the measurement device inside always operational. The enclosure is IP65 rated, meaning it is fully dust-tight and protected against splashing, falling, or dripping water.

These features make Nemo Industry Probe the industry-leading solution to test 5G networks. The deployed Nemo Industry Probe units can be upgraded with the latest Nemo measurement terminals ensuring flexible and future-proof autonomous testing of the latest technologies.?

Nemo Active Probe or Nemo Industry Probe connected with Nemo Cloud and Nemo Analyze seamless, completely automated data-processing chain from the field to an open workbook with analysis results.

Interested to learn more and see a live demo of Nemo Industry Probe in use? Watch our latest webinar on demand.

Contact us for more information: [email protected] ?