SoftBank Deploys Procera for Better LTE Experience

SoftBank is deploying Procera's analytics system on its LTE network in Japan in a bid to get a deeper dive into the data on wireless broadband performance as more subscribers add smartphones and tablets to their plans.

Procera's Subscriber Experience analytics system can deliver SoftBank Corp. both real-time and historical data on subscriber metrics. The metrics include information on the radio access network (RAN) performance, subscriber data, video and other content activity.

The data gathered from Procera's Perspectives can be displayed in real-time or streamed and then stored in the PacketLogic Intelligence Center for visualization via Procera or other software.

Procera isn't saying if the system will be extended to SoftBank's US subsidiary Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) Procera VP Cam Cullen says -- via email -- that the announcement is only specifically dealing with the deployment in Japan.

SoftBank was one of the first operators to deploy on both the frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) versions of LTE in Japan. TDD technology uses a single channel and a timed signal to separate uploads and downloads. FDD systems have two channels of paired spectrum separated with a guard band for uploads and downloads. (See Defining 4G: What the Heck Is LTE TDD?)

SoftBank now has more than 10 million subscribers, or over two thirds of its LTE customer base, on TDD-LTE.

Procera's RAN Perspectives was a finalist in Light Reading's 2015 Leading Lights awards program. (See Leading Lights Finalists 2015: Best New Product (Mobile) .)

— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading