Verizon is known for their reliability and speed when it comes to their network, specifically the lightning fast speeds from 4G LTE. On the phone side they are known for not dropping too many calls and for being one of the first to roll out HD Voice with Advanced Calling 1.0. Earlier this morning I joined Alexander Kenna, a Verizon baseline engineer, at the New York Metro Region headquarters in New Jersey on a network test drive. Other men and women like Alex, run these test drives throughout the nation on a daily basis. While some third parties like RootMetrics run these tests in an effort to give out awards, Verizon does this to test and make sure the network is running properly. Let’s dive into a Verizon network test drive.
I started off the tour by checking out the network test drive vehicle, depending on the location the car might different. In New Jersey they used a customized Chevrolet Tahoe. The first thing you notice is that there is no branding on the truck, but you might notice the eight antennas on the roof. And these are specifically for the voice calls. Along the back windows you will notice eight panels, which look like miniature solar panels, but are in fact data antennas. Along with all of these antennas are devices and SIM cards, you might be wondering why there are eight of each. Verizon does not just test out their own network, they do tests on the other big carriers. They have physical smartphones that test out voice and they have SIM cards which are housed in a data modem to test out the data side of the network. Some of these smartphones are enabled with Advanced Calling 1.0, so they can test out this feature, plus they have both 3G and 4G LTE SIM cards. Along with all of the devices and SIM cards capable of reaching the network, the multiple voice and data antennas, they have also have two very precise GPS antennas. This way they can mark the exact location where the tests are being conducted. All of this data that the system performance engineers collect is stored in the vehicle on storage devices and can be accessed via the laptop, a Panasonic Toughbook in the front of the vehicle. They used a baseLINE benchmarking application which allows them to see each device and can alert them when certain tests fails.
Each device and SIM card is running a script, which in essence is a line of code that tells the device what to do. With the data testing, it will download a photo and then upload it, this process is repeated hundreds of times a day and thousands of times a year. They run these data tests on both Verizon’s 3G and 4G LTE network. Alex did note that when Verizon rolled out XLTE, which makes use of the AWS spectrum to provide an even faster and more reliable 4G LTE experience that the network tests improved. This shows that even though the network is doing better, they still go out and test it daily. In terms of how they test voice, they make use of Harvard sentences. The dialogue that these sentences use test points all over the range of human voices. They use these tests to messier voice calls, voice quality dropped calls, attempts like a timeout and not having service. Both voice and data tests are made throughout the test drives.
The routes that the driver’s, like Alex, take cover all of the major highways, roads, and intersections in the areas were they travel. In Northern NJ they make sure to cover routes 78, 202, and 280 among others, as well as some local roads in and around these areas. Typically Alex will drive 3200 miles every quarter at a minimum, and around 12,800 miles every year. You could say that he has become quite a skilled driver, as he knows the in’s and outs of the roadways. In New Jersey there are two network test drivers, and there are also two in New York, with hundreds more throughout the nation. These drivers monitor the devices, plus the many different tests from the computer in the front. They get alerts when certain tests fail and can address them if the prompt a flag for them. At the end of the day all of the data collected is transferred back to the performance engineers.
A key fact to mention is that all of the data complied and reason the tests are being done, is not for some award, even thought they might receive them, Verizon’s testing is done to improve and make sure the network is running correct for the end users, the customers. They use the findings to optimize the network and to make sure it keeps getting better. It was a unique opportunity to tag a long on a Verizon network test drive, as it shows how much Verizon cares about the network.
