CERN puts complete trust in Rohde & Schwarz Mobile Network Testing solution

One of the most renowned research centers worldwide, the European Organization for Nuclear Research CERN outside Geneva, Switzerland, relies on the mobile network testing technology from Rohde & Schwarz: with QualiPoc Remote Control measurement probes, CERN monitors its mobile network and consequently ensures that some 6000 employees are reachable by mobile phone 24/7 – both below and above the ground.

At an average depth of some 100 meters and covering an area of more than 50 kilometers of tunnels and caverns, CERN operates the world’s largest particle physics laboratory. There, it hosts the most powerful particle accelerator ring, the so-called Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The circular tunnel system with a circumference of 27 kilometers is among Europe’s most widespread underground areas with complete mobile network coverage.

To ensure mobile telephony and data services for all CERN employees in these facilities, a stable and reliable network is imperative. Comprising several surface radio base stations and 46 underground repeater sites, the specifically designed network supports 2G/3G/4G technologies. To monitor realtime service quality (QoS and QoE) in line with Service Level Agreements (SLAs), CERN selected the QualiPoc Remote Control measurement solution from SwissQual AG, aRohde & Schwarz subsidiary with headquarters in Zuchwil, Switzerland.

CERN evaluated the SwissQual measurement solution based on comprehensive technical specifications. “QualiPoc Remote Control meets our requirements and offers the most flexible and cost-effective solution”, says Frédéric Chapron, Head of Communication Services at CERN. Also, the smartphone-based network probe fulfills the stringent criteria regarding compactness, reliability and energy consumption. QualiPoc Remote Control can be fully remotely controlled, allowing remote configuration, data analysis and reporting.

SwissQual deployed network-wide 60 measurement probes to continuously measure multiple RF parameters (including KPIs, signaling, layer 3) and run scheduled QoS and QoE tests to verify SLAs and monitor communication services. Reported to a central server, a fully featured backend application processes the data and provides a realtime overview of the network.

With the successful deployment of this challenging large-scale monitoring system below and above the ground, Rohde & Schwarz Mobile Network Testing guarantees that network problems at CERN are immediately detected and can be acted upon before QoS and QoE are affected. By winning the competitive call for tender, Rohde & Schwarz again demonstrates its technological leadership in the development of highly reliable and accurate measurement systems for mobile network testing.

For further reading, please find the CERN case study Large-scale, 24/7 mobile quality monitoring and service level verification.