5G Gets Real In The Field

Although the evolution to 5G has been years in the making, we are now reaching a point where the steady march of progress has become a mad dash to the finish line as communications service providers (CSPs) race to deliver profitable new services.

- Kashif Hussain

Yet, even as network rollouts gain momentum, an array of new complications needs to be addressed in order to validate, activate and optimize 5G infrastructure.

This evolutionary step is not just an incremental update to existing communication standards — 5G represents a paradigm shift in network technology. The enhancements that 5G is expected to deliver will depend on multiple elements working seamlessly in tandem, which is only attainable through innovative and robust 5G testing practices.

Emerging OTA Testing Needs

Although the first 5G networks were deployed in non-standalone (NSA) mode using a 4G core, networks eventually will migrate to a 5G core operating in standalone (SA) mode. To achieve gigabit throughput in 5G, operators can deploy wider channel bandwidth by using 5G New Radio (NR), enabling the aggregation of as many as 16 component carriers (CCs) and up to 1 GHz of spectrum.

5G NR introduces flexible spectrum usage with scalable numerology, dynamic TDD, massive MIMO and beamforming. However, although massive MIMO and beamforming increase overall spectral efficiencies, these technologies also impact test and measurement processes. In the past, most radio functionality could be evaluated independent of antenna systems. But adaptive antenna system (AAS) technologies used with 5G make it impossible to separate radio performance from antenna performance, necessitating over the air (OTA) testing.