Europe : Actix announced that Vodafone Ireland has selected Actix' UMTS 3G solution primarily because of its vendor independent A-platform open architecture.

One of the solution's key benefits for Vodafone Ireland is its ability to process enormous amounts of data in the form of manual drive test UMTS 3G log files. The solution is enabling the operator to better troubleshoot and understand the performance of its network and provide its customers with the best possible network and services quality.

Actix' vendor independent solution enables Vodafone Ireland to objectively interpret data generated by different vendors' testing and data gathering tools including different vendors' test handsets. Beyond understanding the 3G coverage area of its network, the Actix solution enables Vodafone Ireland to gain a detailed picture of the performance of its 3G services from the customers' perspective at any geographical location within the coverage area, and visualize this performance with respect to the rest of the network.

Many performance and quality critical applications can be implemented using the Actix solution including: automated processing of contractual performance metrics, subscriber-perceived performance analysis for IP and data applications (e.g. HTTP, UDP), correlation of abnormal IP performance and radio link parameters, troubleshooting of radio link problems, and correlation of WCDMA scanner and UMTS UE measurements from independent log files.

The Actix solution also enables operators and vendors to embed complex infrastructure acceptance processes into software, reducing the cost of performing acceptance, providing an impartial platform for verifying rollouts, and accelerating the time to acceptance and subsequent launch of services.

Liam Marren, Head of Network Quality & Optimisation, Vodafone Ireland said, "We have used Actix' technology since 1998 for our 2G, 2.5G and now 3G post processing requirements. Each time the network technology has developed we have re-assessed the top vendors in the marketplace to ascertain which technology is the most suitable for us. For our requirements, Actix has always proved itself to be the best choice, often offering a solution with functionality that no other vendor can provide. One element of Actix' technology that has consistently met our needs is its vendor independent architecture. Combine this with the fact that the solution is sold separately from any testing and data gathering tools, makes it a unique proposition in the marketplace and the right choice for Vodafone Ireland."

Jeff Atkins, CTO, Actix said, "Almost all the hardware and software technology involved in deploying a UMTS 3G network has been developed recently, which makes it much more challenging than deploying a 2.5G network. When working with such a wide range of new technologies, it is critical to be able to interpret the data being generated by the network and captured by a variety of data gathering tools. Actix solutions will continue to help Vodafone Ireland to optimize the capacity and quality of its networks, giving it further control over Quality of Service, which is becoming an increasingly important differentiator for operators as they look to launch and enhance 3G services."