- Anritsu and MediaTek have completed verification of 3GPP RAN5 conformance test cases regarding Release 17 Coverage Enhancement features for 5G NR Standalone (SA) mode.
- These tests were conducted by combining Anritsu’s ME7834NR series mobile device test platform with MediaTek’s M60 validation terminal.
The Release 17 coverage enhancement specifications aim to maintain connectivity in areas where the uplink is the limiting factor, such as at cell edges or in deep indoor environments.
The validated features rely on several radio protocols designed to boost transmission reliability without increasing transmit power:
- Msg3 Repetition: Repetition of the initial access message to ensure secure connection establishment.
- Enhanced PUSCH Type A Repetition: Increased redundancy on the uplink shared channel.
- TBoMS (Transport Block processing over Multiple Slots) processing: Spreading transport blocks across multiple time slots to improve the link budget.
Regulatory Validation and Hardware Compatibility
The conformance test cases, defined in the 3GPP TS 38.523-1 standard, have been submitted to the 3GPP RAN WG5 working group and made available on the organization’s official portal.
Anritsu’s ME7834NR series platform—registered as Test Platform 251 with the GCF and PTCRB—supports Protocol Conformance Testing (PCT) and Carrier Acceptance Testing (CAT). When paired with the MA8171A series OTA anechoic chamber and the Japanese manufacturer’s RF converters, it enables coverage of both sub-6 GHz and millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequency bands for 5G standalone and non-standalone architectures, as well as non-terrestrial networks (NTN).
