Compact Handheld Device for Voice and Data Testing

Welcome to another edition of GL’s newsletter! Here we discuss testing telecommunications networks for voice and data quality using the portable vMobile™ solution. This solution interfaces to endpoint devices such as cellphones or Push-to-Talk Radios. It can send and receive audio through the device and make precise measurements of voice quality, delay and more.

Overview

GL’s vMobile™ is a pocket-sized portable device for voice and data quality testing on various networks including cellular (5G, 4G, LTE, 3G) and mobile radios. vMobile™ revolutionizes automated drive and walk testing, offering features such as GPS, Indoor mapping, and real-time tracking.

Key Specifications of vMobile™
The vMobile™ handheld portable hardware features two Bluetooth® modules for connecting to two mobile phones simultaneously. It also has a 4-Wire Analog port with Push-to-Talk (PTT) for connecting to any mobile radio or analog headset interface. Furthermore, the vMobile™ has an embedded Wi-Fi module for communication with the central system. The embedded Wi-Fi also supports remote operation, including remote audio analysis. For accurate location-based results, an onboard GPS receiver is included.

Additionally, a third Bluetooth module is dedicated to enabling direct communication between the vMobile™ and the Console application running on an Android or iOS device. This allows users to control, monitor, and perform tests directly without interruption. All test results and events are sent to a central database (MySQL) and accessed via the GL WebViewer™, a convenient web-based dashboard.

Simplified Drive and Walk Testing with Advanced GPS Tracking
The vMobile™ simplifies drive and walk testing for mobile phone and radio network testing. Automated testing is enabled through scripting, which facilitates placing and receiving calls, as well as sending and recording audio during established calls. All vMobile™ Call Events are sent to WebViewer™ which displays all measurements and call events including Call Fail and Call Dropped. Users can generate custom reports including line and bar graphs, for instance Voice Quality or Delay results plotted over time. Results are also plotted directly on Google Maps using custom pins depicting pass/fail and errors during testing. For scenarios without GPS availability, such as indoor or subway testing, the vMobile™ Indoor Tracking System (ITS) ensures accurate plotting of results.

Automated Voice Quality Testing
The vMobile™ provides comprehensive automated voice quality testing by automating call setup for mobile phones and recording audio during established calls. It also automates PTT functionality for mobile radios, delivering precise measurements such as PTT Network Delay and PTT Grant Tone Delay. The recorded audio is analyzed for Voice Quality Mean Opinion Score using either the POLQA (ITU-P.863) or PESQ (ITU-P.862) algorithms, with the WebViewer™ automatically converting PESQ results to DAQ when needed.

Additional metrics include One-Way Delay, Round-Trip Delay, Signal and Noise levels, Audio Dropout analysis, Frequency, and Power analysis. The device also tracks call metrics such as Call Failed and Call Dropped, with all results mapped using GPS coordinates in the WebViewer™.

Python Scripting for Remote Operations and Automation
The vMobile™ supports remote operations via Application Programming Interface functions, enabling seamless control from external systems. Users can integrate and automate tasks using Python scripts, making the device adaptable for custom workflows. This flexibility allows for remote test execution, monitoring, and analysis without physical access to the device. The feature enhances efficiency by enabling automated, hands-off operations.

Automates GL NetTest for Comprehensive Data Testing
vMobile™ can also integrate with GL’s NetTest solution. NetTest conducts data testing on mobile devices and computes speed tests (TCP), UDP (capacity), HTTP, VoIP, FTP, DNS and video simulation. All results are sent to the central database and can be mapped using the mobile device's GPS receiver via Google Maps.

---

Key Features

• Fully automated voice and data testing for any wireless phone or mobile radio network. Any carrier, any network, any phone
• Supports satellite communication testing through Bluetooth® and wired headset connections to satellite phones and radios
• Automation includes Python scripting and remote operation of multiple vMobile™ units
• Includes Bluetooth (for mobile phones) and Analog mode for connecting to 4-Wire Analog devices including Mobile Radio with PTT
• Onboard battery can be extended to 24+ hours of operation using small portable USB-C external battery
• Drive and Walk testing fully supported using GPS (for outdoors) or GL’s ITS (for indoors) for plotting and viewing results
• Computes One-Way and Round-Trip delay measurements accurate to less than 1 ms
• Computes several audio metrics including Signal and Noise levels, Power, Frequency, and Audio Dropout analysis
• Bluetooth supports both Narrowband (8000 sampling) and Wideband (16000 sampling)
• Analog PTT supports Narrowband, Wideband, and Super-Wideband (48000 sampling)
• Fully automated tests while sending events/results to central system for analysis. Access results using the GL WebViewer™ (web browser) which includes custom reports and displaying results directly within Google Maps
• Control and configuration of vMobile™ using the vMobile™ Console (web browser) as well as the vMobile™ Console app (Android and iOS supported). Get status, configure, and fully operate the vMobile™ (both manual and automated tests)

 Back to Newsletter Index Page