ETSI and the Small Cell Forum successfully conducted the first remote Small Cell LTE Plugfest from April 13 to 24, 2015, allowing global participants to test interoperability from their own labs using a secure VPN-based infrastructure. The event focused on validating key technical features including Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), Voice over LTE (VoLTE), Emergency Alerts (CMAS), and mobility enhancements. Over 70 test sessions yielded 500 documented results, demonstrating that remote testing can effectively reduce travel costs and environmental impact while accelerating small cell deployment. Although face-to-face events remain necessary for radio-specific testing, this milestone proves that remote Plugfests can significantly improve efficiency and focus on critical interoperability issues like Carrier Aggregation and Local IP Access.
Keywords: remote testing, interoperability, sustainability, small cells, plugfest