GlobalComm 2006: All bets are on TV
Martin Rowe, Senior Technical Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 6/7/2006 6:54:00 AM
CHICAGO, JUNE 6, 2006—After spending the day at GlobalComm (June 5-8, www.globalcomm2006.com, formerly SuperComm), I'm convinced that the telecom industry is betting the store on delivering video to homes through TV over Internet Protocol (IPTV). IPTV was everywhere on the show floor as network-equipment makers vied to fill the demand from network service providers for switches, routers, and other network elements. ("IPTV: Video's latest test frontier," May 2006, p 49, describes the problems with testing IPTV.)
What's interesting, though, is how the telcos will deliver IPTV over the "last mile." Some homes will get fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) installations, but many will use the existing copper infrastructure, with the transport layer being some form of DSL. Thus, many DSL modem and DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM) makers had a presence.
Regardless of whether video, voice, or data travels over fiber or copper, IP services need test equipment. The telecom test industry was well represented with new products.
Agilent Technologies (www.agilent.com) made three announcements, two of which add IPTV to existing test products. The N2X multiservice tester, used as an engineering tool and network-evaluation tool, now validates IPTV equipment and networks. It emulates and measures thousands of subscribers and up to 500 channels of video clips. It measures delay factor and loss using the Media Delivery Index.
The company also added IPTV test capabilities to its FrameScope Pro handheld Ethernet performance tester. This instrument, designed for field testing, can measure performance of video, voice, and data over Ethernet-based networks. It provides measures packet loss and packet jitter, two critical parameters in delivery of video and voice.
Agilent's third announcement was for the J6801B Distributed Network Analyzer. This instrument analyzes the IP infrastructure in wireless networks. It can analyze bandwidth use in a network, which lets network providers better allocate bandwidth.
Anritsu (www.us.anritsu.com) has added optical return loss and automatic bi-directional measurement options to its CMA50 line of loss test sets. RL features include measurement to –55dB, pass/fail thresholds, and real-time readings for fast verification of results. Auto bidirectional features include up to 4 wavelengths out of a single port (1310/1490/1550/1625 nm) and dynamic range of 50dB for testing of fibers as long as 200 km.
Ixia (www.ixiacom.com) introduced Aptixia IxLoad 3.10 software, which can assess all aspects of IPTV service infrastructure for quality of experience (QoE). The software works with the company's hardware test platforms.
JDSU (www.jdsu.com) announced that its HST-3000 handheld triple-play services tester adds testing for VDSL2 at data rates up to 30 Mbps over copper wires. VDSL2 is a physical-layer technology for delivering IPTV to subscriber premises. The company also introduced the MTS/T-BERD 6000 fiber-optic network tester. The instrument measures insertion loss, return loss, optical power, and functions as an optical time-domain reflectometer.
Sparnex (www.sparnex.com) demonstrated its own VDSL2 tester. The LSX 2030 can test transmissions on lines up to 26,000 ft of 26 AWG wire.
Spirent Communications (www.spirentcom.com) demonstrated its line of test equipment, which included call generators, DSL line simulators, and data generators.
University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab (www.iol.unh.edu), the subject of our April cover story, "Today's testing, tomorrow's engineers," gave presentations on its testing capabilities for Ethernet, DSL, IP, and VoIP.
Yokogawa (www.yokogawa.com/us) demonstrated its AQ6370 optical spectrum analyzer.
