NEC's multi-vendor SON, Small Cell Gateway and Small Cell access point successfully tested at Small Cell LTE Plugfest 2

*** For immediate use August 6, 2014


Tokyo & London, August 6, 2014 - NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) announced today that it successfully completed interoperability testing of its Multi-vendor SON and Small Cell Femto Solution at the Small Cell LTE Plugfest 2. The Plugfest was held from 23 June to 2 July 2014, organised by the Small Cell Forum, in partnership with ETSI, and hosted by the Orange Labs in Paris. The Plugfest was supported by 27 companies, including equipment vendors, test tool vendors and companies providing test network infrastructure.

Testing concentrated on S1 and X2 interfaces in a multi-vendor environment, such as Regression Testing, Handover, Mobility and SON. As well as testing small cell/macro cell handover and security gateways, another key area of focus was the testing of auto-tuning SON features in multi-vendor heterogeneous networks (HetNets). SON test cases were provided by the Next Generation Mobile Network (NGMN) P-SmallCells project, which is driving the development of multi-vendor SON. The test cases covered the major SON features such as self-configuration of neighbor relations, load balancing and self-optimization of mobility, coverage and capacity.

NEC demonstrated the effectiveness of the 3GPP LTE standards in ensuring interoperability between Small Cell Gateway Systems and LTE Small Cell access points to Evolved Packet Core (EPC) equipment to verify the S1 interface implementations. Also, NEC's microcell eNodeB successfully connected to the macro eNodeB via X2 interfaces in a multi-vendor environment and demonstrated good interoperability of the auto-tuning SON features.

In this event, NEC and participating vendors demonstrated that the multi-vendor HetNet solution is a reality and enables operators to benefit from higher levels of innovation that truly open, interoperable multivendor networks bring while reducing costs.

"This is the second consecutive year in which NEC has participated in the tests, each time with great results. Our cooperation with all participants paves the way for a technology breakthrough," said Katsumi Tanoue, assistant general manager, Radio Access Network Division, NEC Corporation. "Multi-vendor SON is the most important key technology helping operators get the most out of their existing network assets as part of a future-proof HetNet strategy."

"During the event, we witnessed the great results of NEC's commitment to 3GPP open interfaces. The Plugfest has demonstrated the ability of NEC to offer a complete end-to-end LTE Femto Small Cell Solution (Access Points, Gateway Systems) which can work seamlessly in a multi-vendor HetNet deployment," said Neeraj Gupta, senior group manager from NEC Telecom Modus, UK.

NEC has been a leading vendor in the supply of Small Cell solutions since 2009. NEC has an extensive track record in the Small Cell market, having made agreements with more than 20 telecom carriers around the world to deliver comprehensive Small Cell systems.

Going forward, NEC will continue interconnectivity tests with leading global vendors in order to prove that Small Cell solutions can enable quick and smooth deployment for mobile operators globally.

About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company's experience and global resources, NEC's advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society.  For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.

Based on its Mid-term Management Plan 2015, the NEC Group globally provides "Solutions for Society" that promote the safety, security, efficiency and equality of society. NEC's brand message of "Orchestrating a brighter world" represents the fusion of advanced information and communication technologies and know-how created in coordination with partners and customers all over the world in order to contribute to the betterment of society and realize a brighter and more prosperous future.


NEC is a registered trademark of NEC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Other product or service marks mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners. (C)2014 NEC Corporation.