SINGAPORE (November 09, 2023) – Keysight Technologies, a global innovations partner and enabler in communications, industrial automation, aerospace and defence, automotive, semiconductor, and general electronics markets has validated its first test case for 5G network emulation conformance recently. This protocol conformance was granted at the Conformance Agreement Group (CAG) Meeting of the Global Certification Forum (GCF) held recently, where the test case for 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) release 17 (REL-17) standards was validated.
Satellite-to ground communication based on the latest 5G standards is key in building Non-Terrestrial networks that are able to deliver universal connectivity and broadband internet access to consumers living in the farthest, most remote corners of the planet, where on-the-ground telecom infrastructure is minimal or non-existent. Such connectivity could delivery critical healthcare, safety and financial benefits to these communities, also helping them improve their economic conditions in the areas of agriculture, health, energy and transportation.
With the new narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) technology, the solutions are required to verify that any devices on the network can handle the path loss and delays associated with non terrestrial networks and operate as they are supposed to, as per the 3GPP NTN requirements. Once these conditions are met, a stable and reliable connection can be assured.
This NB-IoT NTN test case is currently available through the S8704A Protocol Conformance Toolset. The brainchild of Keysight, this toolset provides designers with a comprehensive suite of test cases which have GCF and PTCRB at the helm enabling the certification of chipsets, modules and devices that accelerate time to market.
Muthu Kumaran, general manager, Keysight, said: “This 3GPP Release 17 LTE NTN test case validation underscores Keysight’s commitment to the NTN device ecosystem and the ability to rapidly adopt new 5G New Radio specifications.”