S8707A RF / RRM Carrier Acceptance Toolset

Features and Capabilities

Around the world, commercial development and deployment of 5G technology is accelerating to address a wide range of use cases for consumers and industry verticals. As mobile network operators (MNOs) across the globe deploy their 5G network, the number of 5G-enabled devices is increasing. According to GSA, the number of 5G devices exceeded 200 for the first time in January 2020. By May 2020, 296 5G devices had been announced including 112 commercially available

Before launch, device manufacturers must achieve certification for their 5G New Radio (NR) devices. Manufacturers must follow the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specifications for radio frequency (RF), radio resource management (RRM), and protocol as required by the Global Certification Forum (GCF), the PCS Type Certification Review Board (PTCRB), and regulatory bodies in many countries. Carrier acceptance is a set of additional tests required by most MNOs to ensure device interoperability and performance with their network configuration. Carrier acceptance tests are supplemental to regulatory and conformance tests and validated by subject matter experts at MNOs

The Keysight S8707A RF/RRM Carrier Acceptance Toolset is part of Keysight’s Network Emulation Solutions (NES) portfolio. The portfolio addresses the entire device development workflow — from initial design to acceptance

RF/RRM Carrier Acceptance Toolset Overview

The S8707A RF/RRM Carrier Acceptance Toolset is an integrated solution that enables RF performance testing of 5G devices against MNO-defined test specifications across frequency range 1 (FR1, sub-6 GHz) and frequency range 2 (FR2, millimeter-wave, or mmWave

Testing 5G NR RF characteristics includes in-band test cases and out-of-band measurements such as spurious emissions and blocking. In-band test cases focus on radio performance as a transmitter and a receiver. Out-of-band measurements help determine how the device’s radio impacts other devices operating in the same or adjacent bands. Out-of-band measurements also assess resistance to interference from nearby radio devices

The toolset also covers radio resource management (RRM) and performance testing to characterize the RF performance of 5G devices fully. RRM helps confirm that the device can keep a robust and reliable connection to the network in stationary and mobility scenarios, with handovers between cells using the same or different radio access technologies. Performance testing checks that the device can successfully demodulate downlink signals under ideal and impaired radio conditions, with special tests defined for channel state information (CSI) reporting

The RF/RRM Carrier Acceptance Toolset leverages the superior RF measurement and realtime processing capabilities of Keysight’s E7515B UXM 5G wireless test platform to support 5G’s diverse set of test requirements. The platform also enables RF testing in adjacent bands, generates interferers for blocking test cases, including additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), and provides fading without the need for additional instruments in the test system. Table 1 on page 9 of this document has the details for the hardware configurations

Who benefits from using the S8707A RF/RRM Carrier Acceptance Toolset

The companies that benefit from the RF/RRM Carrier Acceptance Toolset solution are

• Device manufacturers to get their devices approved for commercial launch by MNOs.

• Test houses and test labs requiring approval by the MNOs to execute their carrier acceptance tests.

• MNOs to approve tests for their ecosystem and verify that devices comply with their network deployment.

• Chipset makers to ensure radio performance after integrating their modems with device RF frontends.