EXFO’s Fronthaul Test Kit Scores 4.5/5 in 2016 Lightwave Innovation Reviews Program

Published on March 18, 2016

QUEBEC CITY, CANADA, March 17, 2016—EXFO Inc. (NASDAQ: EXFO) (TSX: EXF) announced today that its fronthaul test kit was awarded a score of 4.5 out of 5 by the 2016 Lightwave Innovation Reviews.

Presented annually by Lightwave, the Lightwave Innovation Reviews program acknowledges top products and solutions in the optical networking industry through an expert panel of third-party judges. Judges include industry executives and analysts from a wide variety of service providers, technology developers, industry analysts, and journalists.

“On behalf of the Lightwave Innovation Reviews, I would like to congratulate EXFO on their 4.5 score,” said Lightwave Group Publisher Rob Stuehrk. “This competitive, unbiased program celebrates the most original and innovative products in the optical networking industry. We are pleased to celebrate EXFO’s fronthaul test kit for its meaningful contribution to the optical networking industry.” Stuehrk added that the judges had praise for the CPRI, including one judge who said, “When all the features are summed up, the CPRI product is innovative and deserving of an industry award.”

EXFO’s fronthaul test kit enables communications service providers to install, turn-up and troubleshoot their mobile networks—as well as perform in-depth analysis to deliver actionable insights—all with a single test platform. Equipped with one unit, field technicians have the capability to verify connector cleanliness, validate end-to-end loss, and ensure compliance to system specifications. With the field crew still on-site at the tower, the unit can emulate the baseband unit and validate that the remote radio head is working properly. Moreover, the RAN Project Managers and technical experts can access real-time data via EXFO’s cloud-based solution to perform business intelligence analysis. With one unit that does it all, wireless providers can experience a significant reduction in overall OPEX and CAPEX—all while bringing more efficient testing processes to the field. This kit comprises the FTB-700G optical and Ethernet test module series including CPRI protocol testing, EXFO’s iOLM with iLOOP feature, the FIP-435B wireless fiber inspection probe with ConnectorMax2 analysis software and EXFO Connect, a cloud-based test equipment and test data management tool. All the products included in this kit are fully automated—from connector inspection to loss measurement, and CPRI testing to test data upload and analysis.

“The key differentiator of our fronthaul test kit is automation,” said Stéphane Chabot, Vice-President of EXFO's Physical-Layer Test Division. “Technicians of all skill levels can easily follow the testing steps as indicated by the unit and check the recommendations if a problem occurs. We aim to speed up and simplify the testing process through automation and by providing a fully integrated solution that combines multiple technologies such as optical and protocol analysis.”

For an overview of all awards and industry recognitions recently won by EXFO, please visit EXFO.com/awards.