Encryption support

Aeroflex has added an option to its 6113 base station tester for GSM base stations with an A5/3 encryption capability. The support provides a field portable base station tester for installation and commissioning, routine maintenance and fault finding, as well as final unit production testing.

Support for the A5/3 encryption algorithm complements the 6113’s existing support for the A5/1 A5/2 algorithms.

The algorithm supplies signalling protection so that voice calls, user-generated data and other sensitive information, such as telephone numbers, are protected over the radio path. The algorithm was designed by the Security Algorithms Group of Experts (SAGE) within the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), based on the requirements of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Working Group SA3.

A5/3 was further developed with the support of the GSM Association, 3GPP and the US T1 Standards Committee.