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If Long Term Evolution (LTE) goals are to be believed, then network equipment vendors and service providers will be seeing improved spectral efficiency, lowered costs, offering increased applications, and integrating with more open standards. While some vendors say that they expect to have their LTE rollouts ready as early as the end of 2009, most believe it will not happen until early 2010.

Once the LTE project is complete, mobile phone handsets and other mobile devices will be able to download data almost ten times faster than what is currently available. Since more mobile users are downloading video, TV, and other high-bandwidth data onto their phones, it is no surprise that the world's biggest mobile phone vendors, network equipment manufacturers, and carriers have agreed to adhere to the LTE-based fourth-generation technology.

Given the promise of LTE for true mobile broadband, there are several questions that LTE testing vendors are attempting to help service providers and equipment vendors address, including whether LTE network elements can handle the new demands for higher bandwidth with low latency, whether deployments will deliver the mobile broadband experience expected by end users, and whether voice traffic is being prioritized appropriately. Operators will need to know whether the LTE system reacts as expected under high load, handover, and error conditions, as well as whether the system interworks with more established networks. And, of course, they want to know whether the user connections and the network control are properly secured.

Despite the fact that the economy is seen as a major challenge for some vendors and operators in terms of fully embracing LTE as the next mobile radio communications and as a way to provide mobile users with an enhanced experience and better mobile broadband, the fact is that some estimates place the number of operators that have invested in LTE at more than 100, including many from the CDMA camp.

This report examines applications in the emerging LTE testing market, including a comparative analysis of solutions. The report analyzes the types of test suites on offer and how those products will be applied to maximize LTE service levels, shorten development cycles, accelerate time to market, and optimize network operation and performance. It also examines how LTE testing vendors help their users achieve operational savings. Further, the report examines challenges the LTE testing market faces, trends in the industry, and how the economy is affecting the industry. Finally, it provides a competitive analysis of seven top suppliers of LTE testing products.