(^20) DESIGN WORLD — EE NETWORK 6 • 2019 eeworldonline.com | designworldonline.com
TEST & MEASUREMENT HANDBOOK
How well will the 5G NR RAN perform? Will devices connect
flawlessly from one base station to another and provide dual
connectivity with 4G LTE? Will devices, base stations, and the
complete ecosystem deliver on key performance indicators (KPI)
such as 20 GBps in the downlink (DL) for UHD video streaming?
Will they provide the expected low latency for driverless
automobiles? And will they deliver the high reliability required for
no-fail applications? These are just a few of the questions keeping
design engineers up at night.
Meanwhile, 5G conformance tests are key milestones in the
product lifecycle but remain incomplete. Many performance and
RMM tests are still being defined, and test cases specifications
for OTA test have yet to be specified. However, the most relevant
test cases for RAN5 are expected by mid-2019. This development
will help phase in new capabilities in new products and limit risks.
In addition to updating 5G NR release-15, 3GPP has already
started work on release-16. This covers new types of services,
devices, deployment models, and spectrum bands. The emphasis
is on ultra- reliable low-latency communications (URLLC)
enhancements for industrial internet of things (IIoT), utilization of
unlicensed bands, vehicle-to-everything communications (V2X),
and UE positioning and power efficiency.
However, incomplete and evolving targets are pressuring
developers who need to ensure their designs and tests are
flexible enough to handle future requirements. Designs and test
systems must scale to new higher frequency bands, potentially
with higher channel bandwidths, and support lower latency and
co-existence with unlicensed bands.
Given that 5G NR Release-15 is frozen, are we at the 5G
tipping point? It is fair to say we’re on the precipice: We are at a
point where specifications are finalized for 5G NR release-15 and
designs are planned for introduction in 2019.
But is it a point of no return? No.
Most vendors working on 5G NR are planning to phase-in
their 5G capabilities. Initial releases such as dual-connectivity
mobile phones will rely heavily on 4G for critical applications
and use 5G for supplemental high-speed downloads. 5G NR
Release-15 focuses on specifying the underlying foundation
for the flexible air interface and enables the enhanced mobile
broadband (eMBB) use case for high data throughput. These
capabilities are highly focused, giving the first 5G products
greater leeway to withstand a rocky start.
The real test for 5G products is farther down the road
when critical applications that have higher consequences are
introduced. It will be important for companies developing 5G
products to engage with a test partner that has been working
with leaders across the wireless ecosystem and has already faced
most of the difficult problems involved in verifying compliance
and capability.
Preferred practice today is to correct for channel response
by modifying the output waveform of the signal generator.
Keysight Technologies
http://www.keysight.com
Dual-channel signal generator
DUT plane
DUT
Channel
response
Channel
response
Corrected
waveform
Test fixture
Adapters, amplifiers, filters,
cables, switches, mixers, etc
Correcting waveforms for good channel response
Keysight — Test and Measurement HB 06-19.indd 20 6/7/19 1:11 PM
amelia
(Amelia)
#1