In a hyper-connected world like ours, even a single dropped call or wonky Zoom connection can be frustrating, not to mention potentially damaging to business reputations.
Therefore, it’s more vital than ever to have telecom networks that individuals and economies can count on — one that ensures a positive user experience and overall service reliability. That’s exactly what telecom testing seeks to achieve.
It assesses various telecommunications systems to ensure they meet the necessary performance standards.
Whether a simple voice calling app or a complex multilayered data network, telecom testing also known as telco testing examines each hardware and software component involved to verify that they work flawlessly together, contributing to a stable, high-performance network.
In this blog post, we’ll look closely at how telecom testing works and give you some valuable tips on acing your testing practice.
Main Types of Telecom Testing
Telco systems undergo extensive testing to meet functional, technical, and operational standards. This rigorous process helps support the backbone of modern communication, from personal interactions to business transactions and emergency services.
Let’s look at the eight types of telco testing you must focus on.
1. Security testing
Network security might seem technical, but it’s critical to any telecom testing strategy. With cyber threats like data breaches, eavesdropping, and DDoS attacks on the rise, users need assurance that they can safely connect and share data on your network.
In this regard, performing penetration security testing on a mobile app can help confirm that actions like signing up and logging in are secure.
2. Environmental testing
Your users aren’t longer logging in from their homes or office desks. They may travel through rural areas or attend a packed event with heavy signal interference. Bottom line? They’ll still expect a reliable connection, no matter what.
Therefore, conduct low signal and network congestion tests to simulate challenging environments, ensuring your network is equipped to maintain performance without dropping calls or slowing down.
In addition, perform signal interference testing to evaluate how proximity to high-rise buildings or high-powered machinery impacts your network performance.
3. Network performance testing
As a tester, you know that metrics like network reception, throughput, and latency directly impact how users experience the network. The more unreliable the performance is, the higher your risk of churn.
Network performance testing lets you evaluate connectivity under various user conditions, including patchy signal areas, public WiFi usage, and peak traffic times.
It helps you identify circumstances where users can expect a stable connection for activities like calls, video streaming, downloads, and online gaming, guiding recommendations that boost real-world network performance.
4. Device compatibility testing
Network services have to work on an extensive range of devices, each with its own quirks. A feature that works smoothly on one device may be buggy or laggy on another.
Device compatibility testing ensures your network and services function properly across real devices, such as different versions of Samsung phones or iPads, so you can catch and fix any incompatibilities before they lead to customer complaints.
5. VoIP and voice quality testing
Voice services continue to underpin every telecommunications network. Users who face echoes or latency issues are unlikely to trust the network.
No matter what your telecom testing plans include, don’t skip VoIP and voice quality testing. For example, measure packet loss during a cross-country call to assess how much data is lost in transit or test for latency between voice packets to prevent delays.
6. Regulatory and compliance testing
Every country has its own rules around telecom services, such as the FCC in the US or CE in Europe, and not complying with them could attract hefty penalties and a loss of reputation. A non-negotiable part of telecom testing is ensuring device transmissions, data handling, and other activities happen according to the allowable limits in different regions.
7. Global roaming and cross-region testing
As your users travel across states and countries, differences in available bandwidth and roaming agreements could cause network connectivity to fluctuate. Similarly, what works in a city might not work well in rural areas.
Therefore, adding a global roaming and cross-region component to your telco testing strategy enables you to measure the speed and stability of your connection across locations and varying technology standards, like GSM versus CDMA.
8. Multi-generation network testing (2G to 5G)
Depending on where they are, your users will be on 2G, 3 G, 4G, and 5G networks. Each works in a specific way and has limitations, making it difficult to deliver a consistent network experience.
Multi-generation network testing covers every network from legacy to the latest, evaluating the differences in latency, buffering, battery consumption, and other parameters.
That way, you can align your network experience with the provider’s goals and the market’s demands without compromising service delivery.
How to Perform Telecom Testing
Follow this six-step process to establish a solid foundation for your telecom testing strategy.
1. Understand the requirements
Gather comprehensive information about what the system needs to achieve regarding behavior and performance. This includes understanding its expected functionality, quality standards, and KPIs.
Start by consulting various sources, including online reviews, case studies, and customer support feedback, that can provide insight into user needs and expectations.
For instance, if you’re testing a video calling application, it’s essential to know the quality benchmarks users expect, such as the acceptable levels of lag, call clarity, and smooth connectivity when switching between networks or connecting across regions.
Such insights allow you to ensure your testing is in line with the user’s real-world experience.
2. Design the test cases
A test case comprises a defined set of inputs, actions, expected outcomes, and verification criteria that help confirm whether the system meets its requirements.
To start, map out your test cases based on real-world user scenarios. These should reflect how users interact with the system, covering everything from routine actions to potential edge cases.
For this task, use techniques such as boundary value analysis (to check the limits of acceptable performance), decision tables (to outline different decision paths and their outcomes), and error guessing (to anticipate common user errors).
In addition, consistency must be maintained using a standardized format or template for each test case. For instance, when designing test cases for call prioritization, simulate various user loads to pinpoint when call quality begins to degrade.
Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, such as network engineers, to ensure your test cases align with technical requirements and cover the system’s full functionality.
3. Review and optimize the test cases
Thoroughly check your test cases for relevance, accuracy, and completeness, and address any gaps or ambiguities before executing them. Then, prioritize the tests based on importance and complexity and group them into logical test suites to help focus on high-impact areas first.
For example, in a video calling service, testing network transitions — like moving from a high-speed 5G network to a slower 3G network — might take precedence, as these situations can significantly affect user experience.
On the other hand, transitions within the same network generation, such as between different 5G cells, may be considered lower priority in comparison.
4. Execute the test cases
With your test cases ready, it’s time to set up the test environment and execute the tests according to your telecom testing plan.
Begin by ensuring the environment mirrors real-world conditions as closely as possible, replicating factors like network types, signal strength, and device configurations.
Follow established test standards and procedures to maintain consistency and reliability. Selectively use test automation tools to handle repetitive or complex scenarios, saving time and minimizing human error.
However, balance automation with manual testing where necessary, especially in scenarios requiring human judgment, like user experience evaluation or visual testing checks.
For example, if you’re testing network transitions during a video call, leverage network simulation tools to switch from 5G to 4G while the call is ongoing. Observe how the call quality adjusts, noting any real-time lags or distortions.
5. Record and report the test results
Create detailed test results and metrics logs and compare them with the expected numbers. Identify and flag any deviations and prepare suitable reports using visualization and data reporting tools to help your team understand.
In the video calling transition testing example, points to document include any degradation in call quality, time to reset connection after a call drop, and user experience feedback.
Accurate documentation of test results is essential for understanding system performance and identifying areas for improvement. Therefore, prepare detailed logs that capture all relevant test data and metrics, including timestamps, test conditions, and observed outcomes.
Compare these results against expected values to identify discrepancies or performance deviations and flag them for quick resolution. In addition, visualization and data reporting tools, such as charts and graphs, can present the data in a way that simplifies team analysis.
6. Update and improve the test cases
Once you’ve analyzed the test results, work with your team to identify core challenges you must address and then modify or rewrite your test cases as necessary.
For example, if testing video transitions revealed a longer-than-ideal delay during network changes, consider adding new test cases to simulate network switches between connections with similar bandwidth levels.
This approach provides more granular insights and helps identify conditions for improving call quality. If unexpected issues surface, such as latency spikes or connection drops, revise your test cases to include more precise scenarios that address these problems.
Best Practices for Effective Telecom Testing
Significantly improve the quality and robustness of telecommunications testing with these niche best practices.
1. Apply Machine Learning (ML) to analyze network logs and predict issues
Use ML models to process massive volumes of network log data, identifying trends and patterns that might indicate potential performance issues.
This approach helps detect and predict issues, such as areas with frequent call drops or slowdowns due to congestion. Models can help prioritize testing efforts by highlighting high-risk areas or identifying optimal times to test network load.
2. Stress test on Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) Scenarios
As telecoms adopt edge computing, test scenarios should involve edge-server interactions, especially for applications requiring low latency (like autonomous vehicles, IoT, or AR/VR).
Evaluate how proximity to different MEC servers impacts performance, particularly in latency-sensitive applications. This test can reveal unexpected bottlenecks or vulnerabilities in data processing near the edge of the network.
3. Dynamic test script adaptation based on network conditions
Implement adaptive test scripts that can change in real-time based on fluctuating network conditions. For instance, if the network suddenly experiences higher latency or signal drops during a test, the script adapts by triggering different steps.
This helps you understand how applications and services behave under varying real-time conditions, mimicking the user experience.
4. Perform battery-impact testing on network activities
Network activities, particularly in high-power networks like 5G, can drain battery life quickly. Set up tests to measure battery usage for different tasks (e.g., video streaming, calling, gaming) across network types and generations.
Focus on optimizing tasks known to be battery-intensive, especially for mobile devices in areas with patchy coverage, where they might switch between towers frequently.
5. Implement biometric testing for device authentication
As devices increasingly use biometric data for authentication (fingerprint, facial recognition), incorporate testing for biometric delays or failures due to network variability, especially during sensitive operations like mobile payments or secure logins.
6. Localize testing based on regional language and cultural nuances
Conduct tests that account for cultural and language variations, especially in regions where telecom services might need to display localized content or adapt to regional communication styles.
For example, testing region-specific fonts, language packs, or even culturally specific UX tweaks ensures that all users have a seamless, locally relevant experience.
Achieve Telecom Excellence Through Strategic Testing
As networks and user expectations evolve rapidly, telecom testing must be faster and more precise than ever. You’ll need a wide range of scripts and simulations to cover every possible user scenario without compromising the speed or the accuracy of the results.
Rather than trying to do it alone, why not partner with someone who truly understands the unique challenges of telecom testing?
Conclusion
To achieve seamless connectivity in telecom testing, ensure thorough test coverage, use advanced automation tools, and integrate continuous monitoring. These steps will optimize performance and deliver a reliable, user-friendly network experience.
Source: This article was originally published at testgrid.io.
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