University of Surrey program of next-generation wireless technology

FAIRFAX, VA., USA – 15 SEPTEMBER 2015 – TEOCO, the leading provider of assurance, analytics and optimization solutions to communications service providers (CSPs), is part of the group of mobile telecom companies lending its support to the 5G Innovation Center (5GIC) at the University of Surrey, which officially opens today.

TEOCO is a Gold Founder member of the 5GIC project, which brings together over 170 researchers to create the world’s largest academic research center dedicated to mobile and wireless connectivity. The center has already filed fifteen patents and developed technology for transferring data at one terabit per second. TEOCO has been active in 5GIC from the project’s outset, and helped obtain funding for it.

TEOCO has provided a number of its network planning and optimization tools for use at the 5GIC, including:

  • Helix, deployed via the cloud, to provide service assurance with real time analytics and machine learning
  • ASSET, for radio planning, including small cell planning
  • DIMENSION, for end-to-end visualization and capacity planning.

The 5GIC’s new testbed facility will initially provide researchers with a fully-functioning 4G network, which will be upgraded over time to incorporate new 5G technologies. Researchers will use the test network to study and plan for the impact of new services and use cases for mobile networks, including 4K video and the Internet of Things.

TEOCO’s experience in planning and optimizing networks will be invaluable in developing the technologies necessary to make the most of next-generation networks – for example, by ensuring that Self-Organizing Network functionality is a key component in any 5G network from the start.

5G is an investment in the future of the telecoms industry,” said Atul Jain, CEO of TEOCO. “We’re focused on making sure our tools allow operators to make the most of their network.  Our involvement with the 5G Innovation Center means operators can be assured that their 5G networks will be able to cope with next-generation applications straight from roll-out. We’re proud to contribute our latest network tools as well as our expertise and industry experience to this project, to help the 5GIC advance research into 5G for the benefit of the wider industry and users alike.”

“To see the trial network up and running around the University of Surrey’s Guildford campus is a significant achievement for the 5GIC program,” said Steve Bowker, VP Technology and Strategy at TEOCO. “As a member of the 5GIC standards sub-group, TEOCO is working hard to drive this research into industry standards. As a Gold founder member, we’re involved in the highest level of participation for 5GIC, including its patent program. The 5GIC program gives the UK a unique opportunity to demonstrate how international collaboration around the next generation of communications can shape the future for a smarter, digitally connected world.”

“TEOCO has supported the 5G Innovation Center from the very beginning, by providing firstly radio planning and dimensioning tools: and more recently by deploying the TEOCO Helix service assurance solution into the Internet of Things (IoT) 5G Lab,” said Professor Rahim Tafazolli, Director of the 5GIC.  “TEOCO’s role in 5GIC demonstrates its value as a partner for pioneering 5G research, especially in advanced radio frequency propagation and self-organizing networks,” he concluded.