MUNICH — Rohde & Schwarz (R&S) and Viavi Solutions verify their respective test equipment on correct implementation for 5G NR and LTE. This exchange between the two companies will help accelerate user equipment (UE) commercialization. The verification is based on the R&S CMX500 5G NR wideband radio communication tester and the TM500 network tester for UE emulation by Viavi.

5G NR uses a combination of various features, functions, and complex algorithms, making it vital for UE manufacturers to perform extensive testing of 5G mobile devices before bringing them to the market. The thorough validation of the standardized coexistence methodology is key to the success of 5G technology. This sets the basis for the collaboration between R&S and Viavi, who over the past year have cooperated on speeding up integration of a variety of essential 5G NR features. The cooperation ranges from RF performance testing to protocol stack verification and maximum IP data throughput tests to support chipset and device manufacturers, operators, and test houses as well as network infrastructure clients.

R&S and Viavi work together to implement new 3GPP 5G NR features at the same time and understand the integration challenges involved. When developing a new feature, virtual testing is an option, but, ultimately, a UE device is necessary to verify the newly developed feature. Using the CMX500 as network infrastructure emulator alongside the TM500 UE emulator is a versatile alternative to a real device.
The test instruments enable the testing of complex 5G signaling features for NSA mode or SA mode in FR1. This includes features like dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS), LTE advanced and 5G NR carrier aggregation combinations, and over-the-air (OTA) testing. They also feature verification of high-bandwidth tests in FR2 spectrum.

“Time to market is the No. 1 priority for our customers, and the benefit of this cooperation is that we can accelerate our technical development to launch new 3GPP features at a much earlier stage,” said Charl Cilliers, vice president of engineering at Viavi. “This helps our customers achieve their goals.”
“Rohde & Schwarz is pleased to cooperate with Viavi as a leading provider of network testing equipment,” said Christoph Pointner, senior vice president for mobile radio testers at Rohde & Schwarz. “When two major T&M specialists combine their expertise in a joint development, the results benefit both companies and also all their customers in the network and UE testing fields.”