In times when many trade shows and congresses are cancelled, postponed or have shifted to virtual formats, MWC Shanghai 2021 is the first show of the GSMA MWC series to return as a physical event in February 2021. Test and measurement specialist Rohde & Schwarz participates and demonstrates its market-leading solutions for mobile devices, chipsets, infrastructure and networks live at the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC).
Instead of the annual global event usually held in Barcelona at this time of year, the GSMA has organized the MWC Shanghai from February 23 to 25 as a hybrid-event, including a live exhibition. Rohde & Schwarz is showing its commitment to GSMA MWC events, and is demonstrating its latest test solutions for 5G and other wireless standards, connected cars, and mobile network testing at booth N1.B70 of the SNIEC.
Roll-out of 5G in full swing
5G technology is being rolled out around the world. At MWC Shanghai, Rohde & Schwarz is demonstrating highlights from its portfolio of test solutions for 5G base stations and end-user devices.
For base station testing, Rohde & Schwarz offers its high-end instruments, the R&S SMW200A signal generator and the R&S FSW signal and spectrum analyzer, equipped with 5G test solutions including massive MIMO. Both instruments also support UWB and Wi-Fi 7 signal generation and analysis for device testing. The R&S SMW200A signal generator has a frequency range of up to 44 GHz, supports dual radio frequency channels, an internal 2 GHz I/Q modulation bandwidth, and includes options for all mainstream cellular and non-cellular digital standard signals. The R&S FSW signal and spectrum analyzer has a frequency range of up to 90 GHz and offers a market-leading analysis bandwidth of up to 8.3 GHz. It provides comprehensive analysis for practically any wireless communication technology, including broadband modulated signals and frequency hopping signals. The 800 MHz real-time analysis bandwidth allows users to monitor all current modulation bandwidths and trigger instantaneously on relevant signal parameters.
Mobile device certification testing is very important to the mobile communications industry. At MWC Shanghai, visitors can experience the R&S TS8980 RF conformance test systems, recognized by GCF and PTCRB. It is the only conformance test system in the industry that can support all mobile communication technologies from 2G to 5G on the same platform, and can meet the entire process of testing from R&D pre-conformance to industry certification. The R&S TS8980 FTA-3A system supports 5G non-standalone mode (NSA) and standalone mode (SA), for testing and certification of new frequency bands and frequency band combinations for 5G.
In addition, Rohde & Schwarz showcases their R&S 5G NR signaling test solution for FR1 and FR2 frequency bands based on the R&S CMX500 radio communication tester. The solution covers all test applications in 5G from RF measurements and protocol testing to end-to-end application testing, including high-quality voice over 5G NR (VoNR) for example. It is a unique solution supporting high end-to-end data rates and an operating concept that is easy to use, with automation functions optimized for complex test tasks.
Helping connected cars enter the 5G era
The era of connected cars has arrived, and the automotive industry is in a period of rapid technical innovation. Rohde & Schwarz provides the industry with standard-compliant test and measurement solutions to ensure regulatory compliance and the correct operation of wireless systems within vehicles. At MWC Shanghai, Rohde & Schwarz demonstrates protocol conformance test systems for C-V2X standards, and an advanced C-V2X hardware-in-the-loop test solution to verify telematic control units (TCU) in complex road traffic scenarios.
The C-V2X standard protocol conformance test system has been developed based on the standards of the China Communications Standardization Committee and supports new features such as dual resource pools and different message lengths. The solution is based on test instruments such as the R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester and R&S SMBV100B vector signal generator. C-V2X network layer testing as well as message layer and security layer protocol conformance testing are all supported.
The C-V2X hardware-in-the-loop complex road traffic scenario test solution is a cost-effective and convenient solution to simulate complex road traffic scenes for repeatable tests in a controlled environment, avoiding the need for expensive and unpredictable road tests. It is based on the R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester. Simulation of the complex wireless environment assumes road traffic scenarios with hundreds of vehicles transmitting BSM messages regularly. Support of wireless channel fading models allows to evaluate C-V2X devices in the presence of varying signal quality conditions, making the emulated environment fully representative of the physical traffic environment. The R&S SMBV100B GNSS signal generator provides GNSS simulation in C-V2X testing supports, including specific Beidou satellite constellations, as well as global systems. Additional attenuation can be applied to the GNSS signal to simulate road traffic scenarios where vehicles experience significant signal loss due to shadowing effects that occur in urban street canyons and while passing through tunnels.
Empowering next generation mobile devices
Ubiquitous connectivity, together with artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud technologies, open new prospects for the use of mobile devices in the future. To meet the test needs of mobile device makers, Rohde & Schwarz demonstrates solutions for UWB and Wi-Fi 7 wireless connectivity test, Wi-Fi 6/6E signaling test and Bluetooth 5.1 positioning test. The R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester covers non-cellular technologies like Wi-Fi 6/6E (IEEE 802.11 ax) signaling testing in all frequency bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz). As a one-box test solution, the R&S CMW500 also supports 2G, 3G, 4G, and IoT-related cellular communication technologies including NB-IoT.
With the Bluetooth 5.1 standard, the location functionality of Bluetooth LE was further extended by direction finding features, dedicated for indoor positioning or asset finding. The R&S CMW500 showcases its comprehensive set of Bluetooth test applications on the example of testing Bluetooth 5.1 positioning technology in a dedicated demo setup.
Enabling 5G through network testing
In the course of deployment and installation of 5G NR networks, operators are facing challenges due to the different characteristics of 5G signal propagation and higher complexity in the air interface. In order to ensure high-performance network performance and quality of service (QoS), Rohde & Schwarz provides the R&S 5G site testing solution. It supports the verification of PCI, SSB and SIB information on 5G and LTE anchor signals. The R&S TSME6 scanner measures all 3GPP communication standards at frequencies from 350 MHz to 6 GHz at the same time, with a maximum power consumption of only 13 W. The light weight and compact design make the R&S TSME6 ideal for backpack installations and walk tests.
Rohde & Schwarz exhibits its comprehensive test solutions for the mobile ecosystem at MWC Shanghai 2021 booth N1.B70 of the SNIEC.