Acterna Strengthens Wireless Network Test Portolio With UMTS Tester; New Hardware and Software Upgrades Speed Up Performance Testing for 3G Mobile Networks.

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 17, 2001

Acterna (NASDAQ:ACTR) today announced the release of the Acterna 8610 3G Mobile Test Solution for the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), the company's first wireless network tester for 3G standards.

The Acterna 8610 3G Mobile Test Solution gives manufacturers and network operators a powerful tool to test the behavior and performance of networks by realistically simulating network conditions. The new capability will be introduced by Acterna today at the UMTS Congress 2001 in Barcelona, Spain.

The Acterna 8610 3G Mobile Test Solution speeds up and simplifies the test phases for the user by offering a multi-user networked system. Intensive tests can be performed on multiple interfaces and using different types of technology without having to perform separate tests.

In addition, The Acterna 8610 3G Mobile Test Solution employs OPTEC(TM) (Optimized Testcase Composer), a method that allows users to write test cases quickly and efficiently and eliminates the need to know complex programming languages such as C or C++. Users only need to know the protocols tested.

"As wireless carriers migrate to 3G platforms they rely increasingly on test and management solutions like the Acterna 8610 3G Mobile Test Solution to ensure operational performance," said Andreas Herren, managing director for Acterna's Wireless Networks Division. "With our new UMTS capability Acterna has made it easy and affordable for our customers to upgrade their networks to support emerging 3G networks."

The Acterna 8610 product line is a forward-looking solution for test laboratories, and hundreds of these systems for current standards like GSM, CDMA and TDMA are now in daily use around the globe, meeting the demanding requirements of manufacturers and network operators. The 8610's hardware and software components are combined to form a ready-to-go test system that can meet all deployment requirements.

There are no restrictions on the number of components that can be used with the tester, ranging from a solution for testing PBXs to a large system capable of handling all of the tests required by a switching center.

UMTS is the 3G wireless technology standard being implemented by European carriers. UMTS provides service in the 2GHz band and will offer global roaming and personalized features. It also is expected to provide greater capacity, faster data speeds and enhanced versions of the services already available on most handsets.

Telecommunications companies have paid approximately $100 billion for UMTS licenses in several European countries, and the UMTS Forum (London) predicts UMTS deployments to begin in 2002.

The Acterna 8610 Telecom Test System supports all types of tests, including functional tests (interworking, interoperability, features, regression) and performance tests (load, stress, ruggedness, continuity).

About Acterna Wireless Solutions

Acterna offers a wide range of solutions to meet the testing requirements of wireless carriers, including testing of handsets and devices, RF testing and network testing. Acterna is the world leader in mobile handset test equipment used by service providers to determine specific problems with mobile phones and validate the need for repair.

Acterna's Air Interface Instruments and network systems are recognized leaders in their field and are deployed around the world. Acterna's R&D labs, which invested $145 million in fiscal 2001, are actively developing testing solutions for all of emerging wireless services and networks.

About Acterna

Acterna is the world's largest provider of test and management solutions for optical transport, access and cable networks, and the second largest communications test company overall. Focused entirely on providing equipment, software, systems and services, Acterna helps customers develop, install, manufacture and maintain their optical transport, access, cable, data/IP and wireless networks.

The company produces annualized revenue of more than $1 billion and serves customers in more than 80 countries. Acterna is a subsidiary of Acterna Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTR). Information about Acterna can be found on the Web at www.acterna.com.

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