Willtek testing solution to improve lengthy repair process for 100+ million GPRS handset market

Ismaning/Chessington, 09 December 2002 - Willtek Communications today introduced the 4261 GPRS Go/NoGo Option to the Willtek 4200 Series Mobile Service Tester, allowing mobile phone repair shops to identify faulty GPRS phones cheaply and quickly. The ability to test GPRS handsets locally saves mobile phone shops the cost of shipping it to a specialised service centre; it also reduces the time users have to wait for the mobile phone to be returned and the shop’s investment in replacement handsets for the time that the supposedly defective phone is travelling. The option is now available for new testing instruments and as an upgrade to units already shipped; a GPRS Measurement Option is planned for Q2/2003.

The GPRS Go/NoGo Option allows the user to quickly and easily verify the GPRS capability by performing a GPRS Attach, which is the network registration procedure for packet data services. After successfully registering the phone, the 4200 displays the phone’s multislot class in addition to standard parameters such as the serial number and software version (IMEI-SV).

More than 60% of the GSM phones shipped today support GPRS, however, users increasingly complain that the handset does not operate effectively to support the technology. 

Until now, mobile-phone dealers have had to send the phone to a service centre equipped with a larger radio testset for GPRS capabilities to establish the fault on the phone. Often, the results showed that the handset was in working order, but that some settings needed to be changed, or the user had no GPRS network coverage in his area. Willtek’s technology has virtually eliminated this expensive and time-consuming testing process saving money and time for both the mobile phone shop and the consumer. 

Matthias Weber, product manager at Willtek said “The GPRS Go/NoGo Option is another example of how Willtek works with its customers to provide support, optimise their processes and help to reduce costs and improve customer service.”

The 4261 GPRS Go/NoGo Option is available for the 4202S, a standard communication testset used by 60 percent of service centres, as well as for the 4202R, Willtek’s mobile service tester for both GSM and GSM-R phones. Units shipped from December 2002 are prepared for GPRS and can be upgraded through software, while previously shipped instruments can be upgraded in software and hardware by Willtek’s service centres.

The Go/NoGo option is a prerequisite for the GPRS Measurement Option, planned for the second quarter of 2003. The latter will allow multislot transmitter and receiver measurements, allowing for full tests, repair and alignment. “Both options extend Willtek’s product portfolio for GPRS testing to lower-end mobile phone servicing” says Matthias Weber,  “following the GPRS option to the 4400 Series Mobile Phone Testers for high-end service, manufacturing and quality assurance.”

Notes to editors

GPRS is an extension of the GSM networks, allowing mobile phones to send and/or receive Internet data at higher data rates using channel bundling (multislot operation); once logged onto the network, the Internet capabilities are “always on”.