Both Rohde & Schwarz and Keysight Technologies announced 5G testing advancements this week, reflecting the industry’s increased push toward research and development of the technology as operators and equipment vendors experiment with new capabilities and speeds for the next generation of wireless networks.
Keysight and the University of California San Diego demonstrated a “5G” link that was able to sustain speeds up to 2 gigabits per second and utilized what Keysight described as “64 (8 x 8) and 256-element (16 x 16), 60-GHz silicon wafer-scale phased-array transmitter with integrated high-efficiency antennas for Gbps communications at 100 to 200 meters.” The work was sponsored by the Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Keysight as a follow-up to earlier system-on-a-chip work.
Keysight said that the demonstration “[proves] that a 5G communication link is not only possible, but can deliver record performance.”
The company also noted its equipment used to develop the 5G systems is currently available, and this week added beamforming and channel modeling support for 5G to its available software library. Channel modeling is one of the first necessary steps to determining 5G spectrum behavior as a basis for system design.
Rohde & Schwarz, meanwhile, launched its first commercial 5G test system that “characterizes the envisaged 5G spectra” and covers sounding signals up to 85 GHz with analysis bandwidth up to 2 gigahertz, which it says is unique to the market. The system is composed of a signal and spectrum analyzer, vector signal generator and new software.
In announcing the new system, Rohde & Schwarz said “two aspects of 5G set it apart from previous generations: On the one hand, fifth generation mobile radio will open up new frequency bands for commercial wireless communications in the microwave and millimeter wave ranges. On the other hand, it will extend the wanted-signal bandwidth. The new wireless communications channels will require comprehensive analysis to ensure optimal utilization.”
Even as those 5G developments move forward, LTE advancements also continue to be supported. Keysight relied on its UXM test system’s new capabilities to verify new 4×4 multiple-input/multiple-output capabilities in the downlink for speeds of 600 megabits per second, or Category 12 speeds.
In other test news this week:
–Anritsu launched a new, integrated test solution that utilizes software from Granite River Labs to simplify calibration on Anritsu’s MP1800A BERT Signal Quality Analyzer.
–Viavi Solutions (formerly JDSU) has integrated its Wi-Fi Advisor product with its OneExpert DSL testing products, for better placement of customer access points in order to speed up installation and trouble-shooting as well as support managed Wi-Fi services. OneExpert DSL also now supports voice-over-IP testing including MOS scoring to test call quality.
-Testing and monitoring companies have been delving deeper into security, reflected in such recent moves as NetScout‘s acquisition of Danaher assets including security firm Arbor Networks. Cobham Wireless this week launched a new cybersecurity threat analysis solution for its TeraVM security portfolio that “enables operators to validate their security status with rigorous testing of infrastructure against the latest and most prevalent security threats,” according to the company.
The system relies on a database of cybersecurity information and intelligence to emulate real-world cyberattacks, and is a virtualized solution on standard hardware.
“The sophistication of modern security attacks means simply testing next generation firewalls against perceived threats is no longer adequate to ensure network resiliency,” Cobham noted. “In order to protect the infrastructure and subscribers, operator defenses must be thoroughly examined throughout the network lifecycle against new hacking techniques. This must then be performed against a background of emulated network application traffic to guarantee effectiveness of infrastructure in real-world scenarios.”
