BROWSING: 5G Testing Fundamentals

'No one has a lack of data ... but can that data help you?' asks Cisco exec There is a dizzying array of data available to telecom operators on the status, performance and health of their networks; at various speeds and levels of granularity; focused...

One way to asses what test and measurement companies think is coming next in terms of needed technologies and capabilities is to look at the ways in which they have been expanding their portfolios with new automation and analytics offerings. They are also increasingly...

Operators rely on analytics tools to help them sift through the (virtual) mountains of data that comes from their networks. As the amount of data grows, so does the need for increasingly intelligent analytical tools to optimize and troubleshoot the network, to provide subscriber...

Considerations include operational readiness, business case development and go-to-market strategy A logical, virtual, end-to-end network slice that automatically comes into being to serve the exacting requirements of a particular horizontal or vertical use case—that’s a big part of the vision of 5G and the monetization...

Viavi on the role of artificial intelligence and digital twins in continuous testing of cloud-native networks The big idea of 5G is delivering on-demand enterprise services that are automatically provisioned across network domains and tailored to best serve the end user while optimizing the network...

Regis Lerbour, VP of Product, Network Testing and RAN Engineering at Infovista, said that traditional RF testing approaches will need to evolve given the current RF environment The RF environment of cellular networks is currently going through a significant evolution. 5G is leveraging many more...

Panelists touched on 5G, Wi-Fi 7 and IoT non-terrestrial network devices During a panel at the Test & Measurement Forum, two panelists discussed some of the testing challenges associated with next-generation devices, like those equipped with 5G and Wi-Fi 7, as well as communication...

FWA can deliver higher data rates, but consumer adoption is dependent on a CPE device's performance At the recent Test and Measurement Forum, LitePoint’s Product Manager Khushboo Kalyani gave a presentation outlining some of the value propositions of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) for both the...

Impacts to the radio frequency environment isn't the first aspect that comes to mind amid the ongoing shift toward cloud-native, disaggregated networks. But that's not to say there aren't any, and according to Regis Lerbour, VP of product for network testing and RAN at...

The three (not so) easy pieces of 5G service assurance—orchestration, the edge, and end-to-end visibility Here’s a hypothetical: A manufacturing enterprise has looked at its options for gaining production efficiencies and opted to use various video analytics backed by private 5G. A partner is engaged,...

When bringing CT to live networks, it’s important to build and design for this framework from day one The move towards continuous integration and continuous delivery/deployment or CI/CD and continuous testing (CT) is part of the telecom industry’s larger push for full automation. According to...

CI/CD is a software development principle that introduces automation into the entire lifecycle software development Continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery/deployment (CD) — together referred to as CI/CD — is a software development principle or method in which automation is introduced into the entire lifecycle...

Midband spectrum is often referred to as having the right mix of performance capability and coverage for mobile networks, particularly 5G, when compared to low-band or millimeter-wave spectrum. As midband spectrum is being deployed, what impact is it having on network performance? -T-Mobile US'...

Testing and deployment at cloud scale needs cloud-style automation and orchestration. There’s already been gallons of ink spilled in service of lecturing Communication Service Providers (CSPs) on the importance of adopting cloud-native business processes and technology as they pivot to the introduction of 5G Standalone...

Challenges to 5G test strategies in product and device testing can be mitigated using thoughtful testing and automation.

As network operators navigate a multi-pronged transformation that encompasses 5G, fiber proliferation, increasingly cloud-based and virtualized networks, one of the challenges that they face is that of radio frequency interference. RF interference is not a new issue in wireless networks, and in fact, some of...

"The network of the future is a cloud of a cloud of a cloud," said Viavi Solutions CTO Sameh Yamany 5G is opening up support of new verticals and use cases via a more flexible network -- but it also brings new challenges for network...

Service providers are taking multiple routes to architecting and/or opening their 5G networks. Some are handing them off to hyperscalers, either for specific applications or more broadly. They face the decision of what data to keep under their own control on their own compute,...

'We are trying to drive the notion of QoE,' says AT&T's VP of network analytics and automation “In 5G, our focus is the customer experience. We are trying to drive the notion of QoE,” says Raj Savoor, vice president of network analytics and automation for...

 3G networks are being turned down, 4G is at the heart of most cellular networks around the world, and 5G is gaining ground across the globe.   As quickly as 5G has dominated industry discussions and marketing, however, it still isn’t the dominant technology serving customers...

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is continuing its ongoing series of Plugtest events to test the interoperability of mission-critical communications services, including mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT), mission-critical data (MCData) and mission-critical video (MCVideo). The most recent Plugtest, ETSI's sixth, was conducted in a hybrid...

"Operators who have been rolling out 5G NR networks for some time have the coverage advantage," SRG says For some time, Dish Network has been promising a beta launch of its much-anticipated 5G network in Las Vegas, amid delays. That beta test phase with friendly...

Cognitive networks apply data intelligence to end-to-end data flows The latest generation of cellular, 5G New Radio, has three primary characteristics: multi-gigabit per second throughput, ultra low latency and very high reliability, and support for massive numbers of internet of things devices. While consumer-facing 5G...

A data-first approach to operational excellence As operators consider any type of artificial intelligence- or machine learning-based network automation projects, "Everything comes back to data," according to Damion Rose, senior product manager of mobile signaling and data analytics at BICS. "Using machine learning starts with...