Munich, Feb 17, 2014 - Given the steady increase in data streams, traffic offloading is an innovative and economical way for LTE network operators to divert parts of their data traffic to WLAN networks. At Mobile World Congress 2014, Rohde & Schwarz will present the world's first single-box test platform for WLAN traffic offload.

Rohde & Schwarz has developed a compact, configurable single-box solution for testing the various aspects of LTE-WLAN traffic offload. Based on the tried and tested R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester, the R&S CMW500 multistandard platform not only tests the terminal equipment of all common wireless communications standards, it also emulates an appropriate connection for a WLAN test. Rohde & Schwarz uses this feature for its single-box solution for testing LTE-WLAN traffic offload.

LTE provides full network coverage for mobile services, including data, which can consume large amounts of bandwidth. Because the majority of data traffic is generated by static mobile devices inside buildings, WLAN presents an ideal, inexpensive alternative for reducing the load on wireless communications networks that have reached their capacity limit. Widespread acceptance of this type of traffic offloading requires smooth transitioning from LTE and WLAN. For example, the SIM card should handle the authentication for network access via WLAN without any user interaction. Applications that are running, such as video telephony, cannot be interrupted during a handover.

All techniques, procedures and protocols required for LTE-WLAN traffic offload have now been defined in relevant documents: the LTE standards for the inclusion of non-GPP standards and in the WLAN extensions as specified by IEEE (IEEE 802.11u) and by the Wi-Fi Alliance (Hotspot 2.0). Complex conformance and interoperability tests can ensure automatic authentication and a seamless handover.

At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (booth C40, hall 6), Rohde & Schwarz will present a standard-compliant LTE-WLAN traffic offload test solution based on the R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester. The future-ready platform covers a wide spectrum of functional tests, from verification to specific certification test plans for network operators. This solution allows smartphone and infrastructure manufacturers to ensure standard-compliant implementation of LTE-WLAN traffic offload.

Rohde & Schwarz has published a detailed whitepaper on LTE-WLAN traffic offload: www.rohde-schwarz.com/ad/press/offload