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Averna Buys Test & Measurement Solutions

Jeff Baumgartner — Mon, 14 Mar 2016 17:15:00 +0000

Averna said it will broaden and strengthen its presence in Europe after striking a deal to acquire Belgium-based Test & Measurement Solutions.

Financial details were not announced, but Aerna’s main shareholders, Tandem Expansion and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), both participated in the financing of the acquisition.

Headquartered in Belgium and with offices in the Netherlands and Poland, T&M Solutions has about 100 employees. T&M Solutions’ management, including current owners Roel Geraerts and Kurt Hensen, will stay on as Averna looks to expand into new markets.

Averna, which has developed testing products for cable’s new multi-gigabit DOCSIS 3.1 platform, said the buy will boost its presence in the region and create a “springboard for further European deployments.”

“This major expansion into Europe signals Averna’s strategic positioning to accelerate growth and become a truly global Test Engineering powerhouse. Test & Measurement Solutions and Averna share complementary solution portfolios, clients and partners, so this is a real win-win arrangement for everyone,” François Rainville, VP of sales and marketing for Averna, said in a statement.

Averna Puts Intel’s DOCSIS 3.1 Chips to the Test

Jeff Baumgartner — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Averna said Intel has selected its DP-1000 DOCSIS Protocol Analyzer to test its DOCSIS 3.1-based cable modem chipsets ahead of format certification testing at CableLabs.

Averna said the DP-1000 captures and filters MAC-layer data in real-time to verify RF parameters, validate MAC-level communication, troubleshoot interoperability issues, and improve performance. The DP-1000 tests input frequency in the range of 100 MHz to 1.8 GHz in the downstream, and 5 MHz to 200 MHz in the upstream direction, the company added.

Averna’s system is optimized for D3.1-basded modems, which will be hybrids that support both DOCSIS 3.0- and DOCSIS 3.1-based data traffic.

CableLabs announced in August that it had “opened the door” to vendors that are seeking to certify and qualify products for DOCSIS 3.1, an emerging multi-gigabit platform for hybrid/fiber coax (HFC) networks. Intel, Broadcom and STMicroelectronics are the known vendors that are developing chipsets for DOCSIS 3.1-powered modems.

New test and measurement tools and systems were emphasized at a recent CableLabs-run DOCSIS 3.1 interop that featured a wide range of modem and cable modem termination system suppliers.

No products have been certified for DOCSIS 3.1, but deployments are expected to get underway in 2016, and ramp up in 2017.

"Intel was seeking a solution to test its new chipset for D3.1 as well as D3.0, validate CableLabs specifications for the MAC-layer and parts of the PHY-layer, as well as evaluate CMTS interoperability," said Alex Pelland, director of broadband test strategy at Averna, in a statement.

Averna Also Part Of First DOCSIS 3.1 Interop

Jeff Baumgartner — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 18:00:00 +0000

Averna, a supplier of test and measurement gear, is the second vendor to step up and confirm that it was among the six vendors that participated in the first-ever DOCSIS 3.1 interop at CableLabs.

Cisco Systems told Multichannel News that it supplied a cable modem termination system for the D3.1 interop, which took place from Dec. 1-5.

CableLabs conducted the interop (another is set for January) as it prepares to start official certification and qualification testing next year for DOCSIS 3.1, an emerging platform that will be capable of delivering up to 10 Gbps downstream and at least 1 Gbps through the use of blocks of OFDM subcarriers and a new forward-error correction scheme. From a bits per hertz perspective, the combo is expected to produce a bandwidth efficiency gain in the neighborhood of 50%.

Montreal-based Averna said it chipped in with the DP-1000 DOCSIS Protocol Analyzer (pictured above), which “successfully performed OFDM downstream capture at the event.” The device, which already supports the currently deployed DOCSIS 3.0 platform (up to 32 bonded downstream channels and 8 bonded upstream channels), analyzes, debugs and monitors local networks and Internet connections.

“We are extremely proud of our achievement at this first DOCSIS 3.1 Interop. Our DP-1000 was among the first commercially ready products that successfully performed DOCSIS 3.1 OFDM downstream capture at the event,” said Alex Pelland, director of broadband test strategy for Averna, said in a statement. “This is an important milestone for Averna as well as for the industry and we congratulate all the participants.”

The CableLabs D3.1 plugfest featured early implementations of cable modems, cable modem termination systems and test equipment designed for the new multi-gigabit platform.