Complications of 5G Demand Simplified Testing

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Because of 5G, the complexity of wireless networks is growing with higher frequencies, wider bandwidths, carrier aggregation, multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) antennas and flexible network architectures, Manuel Galozy, Product Manager for Mobile Communication Testers, Rohde & Schwarz, told a webinar this week.

“This [complexity] is why it is vital to seek new and innovative test approaches to ensure performance of a device across the different layers, namely RF, protocol and application,” Galozy said. “There are numerous challenges associated with testing these features but using one unified interface to test across all layers – simplifying signaling tests — provides you with a holistic view to the design validation test process of a device.”

Galozy discussed industry trends and priorities and the wide range of features, which the next generation 5G devices are set to provide. He also covered typical test requirements and challenges in ensuring performance of a 5G device across different layers. And he ended the webinar with a demonstration of Rohde & Schwarz R&S® CMX500 5G tester using R&S® CMsquares, a web-based graphical user interface (GUI), which seamlessly integrates the different test approaches, from interactive user interface to the Python-based interface to create test scenarios programmatically.

The current wireless industry goal of reaching speeds of 10 Gbps requires a mix of frequencies and technologies, which creates testing challenges, according to Galozy. 

“To reach 10 Gbps+ throughput demands exploring millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum, combined with carrier aggregation and strong LTE anchor spectrum,” Galozy said. 

In 5G, there are two frequency ranges: frequency range one (FR1) is up to 6 and now 7 GHz. The majority of network operators have deployed sub 6 GHz. Operators are now using millimeter wave (mmWave) technology and higher frequencies, known as frequency range two (FR2) for more bandwidth and higher data rates, he said.

“Worldwide, it is a mix of everything,” Galozy said. “We have FR1 and FR2 in some of the operators’ networks deployed already.”

Beam steering, made possible by MIMO antenna technology, makes it even more difficult to test mobility because of the variety of different mobility scenarios, he said.

“Inside FR2, having more than one beam, for example, when you do the handovers, there might be an interruption where you go back to LTE, maybe even fallback to 3G and 2G with redirections,” Galozy said. “It makes mobility testing very complex for a device. So current 5G smartphones, 5G devices, have to be thoroughly tested to overcome all these different flavors of handovers.”

Dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) is an easy, cost-effective way to achieve 5G coverage using the low-band LTE frequencies, according to Galozy.

“DSS can be an intermediate step before launching a standalone 5G network. There are three ways to achieve it: MBSFN-based, rate matching and via mini-slots,” he said. “With numerous possibilities for parameterization, a number of test scenarios are possible around DSS. An easy Application Programming Interface to create test scenarios in a programmatic way helps device vendors validate their DSS implementation for various scenarios.”

 

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