April 22, 2010 - Anritsu Corporation today announced that it is the first test equipment vendor in the world to achieve GCF-approved test case validations for both LTE (Long Term Evolution) RF and protocol conformance testing.

LTE is the next-generation wireless communications service supporting 100-Mbps downlink and 50-Mbps uplink data communications, which is 5 to 10 times faster than current 3G services. Leading carriers such as Verizon Wireless and NTT Docomo will roll out LTE services later this year.

Mobile terminal manufacturers must gain GCF approval to prove that their LTE terminals satisfy the 3GPP standards, meaning that there is increasing demand for an approved conformance test environment.

At the GCF CAG#22 meeting earlier this month, Anritsu successfully gained GCF approval for an industry-leading 12 RF test cases for its ME7873L RF Conformance Test System together with additional test cases for its ME7832L Protocol Conformance Test System. Following this key GCF test case milestone, Anritsu Measurement Group President Mr. Kenji Tanaka said, "In the last year, there has been a rapidly growing trend towards actual applications and services using the key new LTE technology. Anritsu is pleased to be able to play a major role in LTE conformance testing and help build a richer and more comfortable society."

Anritsu has been the market-leading supplier of GCF-approved test cases for W-CDMA conformance tests since 3G services began. With the targeted October 2010 rollout of LTE services, Anritsu is on schedule to deliver the required 80% of approved Priority 1 and 2 test cases. Anritsu is expecting to accelerate its number of both GCF and PTCRB approved test cases to assure the early success of high-quality LTE services.