Press Releases

Ranlytics, the Australia-based leader in smarter radio frequency (RF) testing and analytics enabling unprecedented network reliability, has developed a world-first way to continuously monitor cellular networks and P25 radio, using a compact device that costs less than a standard mobile phone.

The breakthrough device, called KALLO, combined with a cloud-based analytics platform, enables critical communications networks to be continuously and autonomously monitored for coverage gaps, degradations and other performance faults.

Initially built to monitor cellular networks, KALLO is now capable of monitoring P25 public safety radio networks as well.

It is proof that RF testing need not be expensive and time-consuming. Instead of requiring field technicians to conduct periodic, hours-long walking or drive-by tests, the KALLO compact sensing device is placed in locations where coverage is required, such as in buildings, hospitals and stadiums, taking continuous measurements that offer real-time visibility into network availability and other network operational metrics.

"Radio networks, cellular and P25, are extremely dynamic and are always changing environments resulting in the owners and operators of the radio networks having to assume if they are meeting their customer obligations," said Peter Papaioannou, Managing Director, Ranlytics.

Peter Papaioannou, Managing Director, Ranlytics

"Because of these constant changes, operators need to either constantly go out and physically test, which is an expensive, complicated, resource-intensive and slow exercise, or do something completely different.

"By using KALLO’s cost-effective, fully automated monitoring device, network operators gain continuous real-time visibility into network performance and health. With KALLO, operators know the minute that something is starting to degrade, before this degradation results in an outage."

Support for P25 in KALLO was made possible with R&D innovation by Ranlytics at its Artarmon headquarters in Sydney’s north, where the devices are designed and manufactured.

Specifically, the company used a software-defined radio (SDR) and its subject-matter expertise in P25 to add capability and incorporate it into KALLO. A similar process will be used for future expansions of KALLO to monitor other radio-based networks and technologies.

The ability to monitor P25 digital radio networks is important given how critical P25 is to the emergency services community in Australia and around the world.

From dispatch to arrival and processing of a scene, emergency services organisations increasingly rely on P25 digital radio to communicate between different agencies (e.g. police, ambulance and fire) on the same network. P25 is also widely used in critical infrastructure sectors such as the mining industry.

In jurisdictions such as the United States, establishing that a commercial building has P25 coverage is a pre-requisite step for new tenants to secure an occupancy certificate and insurance.

"The only way to do that today is to send someone in with an expensive scanner device strapped to their back, walk around, collect the data, turn that into a report which can take hours if not days, and submit it. That’s a ‘one-off’ activity performed every couple of years," Papaioannou said.

"A tenant might be in a building with great coverage, only to find that neighbouring construction work has placed them in shadow and they no longer have consistent cellular or P25 coverage anymore. If this goes unrecognised and undetected until the next in-person test, that might be too late for emergency first responders that rely on the coverage for an incident response.

"With KALLO, rather than having infrequent check-points, building owners and tenants can maintain continuous visibility of coverage and be made aware of any degradation or issue quickly so it can be rectified."

KALLO is fully automated, zero-touch and able to be cost-effectively deployed at scale to measure and monitor large network footprints. Its development was years in the making, particularly to ensure autonomous operation while remaining cost effective.

"It’s easy to build one of these for $20,000, but it would have severely limited deployment scale," Papaioannou said.

"To do this at the price point we’ve been able to, and with the full automation, has taken years to solve.

"Building something this affordable and that can be pushed out into environments at a scale not seen before is important. Our intent is to replace traditional walk testing and to verify network coverage. KALLO’s price point means operators can just install it, ‘set and forget’, saving them money over many years."

About Ranlytics

Ranlytics is an Australian-based technology company fundamentally changing how radio frequency (RF), cellular, and P25 digital radio networks are measured, monitored, and managed. Moving the industry away from periodic manual testing, Ranlytics provides automated, continuous network intelligence through its suite of proprietary hardware devices-including LURA for vehicle-based drive testing, CERNO for walk testing, and KALLO for fixed monitoring. By delivering real-time, ground-truth data at scale, Ranlytics empowers telecommunications operators, emergency services, and critical infrastructure owners to ensure unprecedented network reliability and performance. Ranlytics is a proud member of the Australian Radio Communications Industry Association (ARCIA). For more information, visit ranlytics.com.