5G Laptop Testing
Customer Scenario: What is the Most Suitable Way to Evaluate the RF Performance of 5G and WLAN Equipment?
Our company is considering the development of a laptop with 5G and Wireless LAN (WLAN) modules. Which radio characteristics should we evaluate during the development process?
One issue is the proximity of the frequency bands used by 5G NR FR1 (600 MHz to 7.125 GHz band) and by Wireless LAN Wi-Fi 6/6E (using frequencies above 6 GHz in addition to 2.4 and 5 GHz bands). This can cause congestion and interference in simultaneously connected equipment and raise concerns about faulty wireless connections.
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Solving this problem requires testing the communication connection conditions of both the 5G and Wireless LAN modules.
*Governments in some advanced economies, such as the USA, the European Union and Japan, have opened the 6 GHz band to Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11ax) applications using 160 MHz channels across a maximum frequency bandwidth of 1.2 GHz. In addition, since July 2022, the CE compliance test for Wireless LAN equipment requires Packet Error Rate (PER) measurements.
What are the points to note when testing laptop communications connections with both 5G and Wireless LAN modules installed?
It is especially important to verify the communication quality and performance in the actual laptop usage environment.
For LTE, the radio performance can be evaluated by connecting the test equipment directly by cable to the antenna connector of the device under test (DUT). On the other hand, for 5G, since mmWave 5G devices do not have a direct connection port, they are usually tested using an Over the Air (OTA) method. This method works by sending and receiving the data wirelessly between the test equipment and DUT using an antenna to receive signals from the DUT for input to the tester.
Additionally, a 5G laptop may have issues with power consumption and heat generation due to the higher frequencies and communications speed. As a result, these evaluation tests are very important to conduct.
Finally, testing must support both NSA (Non-Stand Alone) and SA (Stand-Alone) methods to evaluate communications at handover from 5G to LTE (switching between base stations) and co-existence with LTE.
What test equipment is required to evaluate 5G NR performance? And can you explain the test equipment for the new Wireless LAN Wi-Fi 6/6E standard?
Anritsu’s Radio Communication Test Station MT8000A is used worldwide by our customers to simulate 5G NR base stations. The MT8000A facilitates an easy switch to 5G testing because it has already been used to test connections with most chipsets.
Anritsu’s Wireless Connectivity Test Set MT8862A supports Wi-Fi 6/6E tests. The all-in-one MT8862A evaluates the various performance aspects of Wireless LAN devices without requiring additional external test equipment such as mixers. Moreover, it can measure the Packet Error Rate (PER) efficiently in a live communication environment.
Anritsu’s all-in-one Radio Communication Test Station MT8000A supports both the FR1 (covering 600 MHz to 7.125 GHz) and FR2 mmWave frequency bands. It is the preferred test equipment of major wireless telecommunications module and chipset vendors due to the easy-to-use GUI and stable evaluation performance. A maximum of four TRx ports facilitate efficient RF tests to help increase 5G NR device development productivity and cut test equipment investment costs, while automated 3GPP-compliant RF measurement tools support easy test-environment configuration.
As described above, 5G NR mmWave devices require OTA testing and Anritsu has collaborated with key global vendors to develop large OTA chambers supporting wireless terminals including smartphones. As a result, Anritsu’s base station simulator can be used for testing with a separate OTA test chamber for each vendor.
Anritsu also offers a wide range of test equipment for developing and manufacturing Wi-Fi 6E (6 GHz band) devices and stands at the frontline of Wireless LAN product development with reliable solutions supporting the evolving IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN standard.
Resources
White Paper: Assuring IoT Device Communications Quality
This white paper provides a clear explanation of how to assess the quality of wireless LAN devices and the necessary functions. It introduces key considerations for implementing wireless standards during the design of IoT devices.
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