Put Your Smartphone to the Test for Your Network

06/01/2016

Two things are happening in the world that have a significant impact on fiber testing—more than 6 billion smartphone users are expected in the next four years and 400 gigabit per second (Gb/s) data center speeds are expected in the next two years.

The two are clearly related because more devices mean more data and the need for higher bandwidth, resulting in an ever increasing number of fiber links in the data center. But how exactly are they related when it comes to testing those links?

As the most widely used interface, it makes complete sense for your smartphone to become an integral part of an overall fiber testing and inspection solution. It’s rapidly becoming a “must have” rather than a “nice to have.” Leveraging your smartphone can make the task of testing fiber links easier, faster and more efficient—and that means more money in your pocket.

When it comes to using your smartphone for testing, it’s important to have a good app. A powerful and flexible app that is also uncomplicated can go a long way in minimizing testing challenges without the need for additional training. The right combination of a great app and an advanced fiber test platform offers a myriad benefits. You can easily see your assigned testing project and parameters, view and save live test data as it is collected, and recall and share results via email, text or mobile cloud applications. And by syncing results data to the cloud, you no longer have to save it to a USB drive and risk the chance of lost test data or managers waiting for the information.

As fiber technology continues to evolve and network speeds continue to increase to 40 and 100 gigabit and beyond, fiber optic networks are becoming more sophisticated and more complex than ever before. And that means more stringent performance requirements and greater pressure to ensure proper design and installation. While test and inspection may be a small part of your business, it is essential for ensuring that your fiber optic installation will meet the performance requirements for the application it was intended to support.

At a time when extensive and comprehensive fiber testing is a must, doesn’t it make sense to use a device that you already own and are comfortable using—especially if it helps you get the job done faster and more efficiently to save you time and money?

So go ahead and put your smartphone to the test! Check out this video to see how.