CHICAGO--Spirent announced its WiMAX test solution, the SR5500 Wireless Channel Emulator, an extension of the company's existing wireless channel emulation platform designed for emerging WiMAX frequencies of 2.5 GHz, 3.5 GHz and 5.8 GHz.

Eddie Arrage, senior product marketing manager for performance analysis-broadband at Spirent, said the company has been assessing the WiMAX market for the last couple of years, looking for the right time to enter it. "There are a lot of well-funded projects now," he said. "Our OEMs are very interested in the market, and even though there is still some hesitancy from service providers, we feel we're coming into the market at the right time, when performance measurement is becoming more relevant.

He said that emulation functions can help service providers during the netwprk capacity planning phase, and also assis them in comparing the wide variety of devices that are emerging.