Anritsu's MT8870A Universal Wireless Communication Tester

Anritsu MT8870A universal communication tester supports 5G  NR

  • Anritsu announces that its MT8870A universal wireless communication tester supports RF measurement according to New Radio (NR) 3GPP 5G standards below 6 GHz.
  • The enhanced 5G Sub-6 GHz NR Uplink Tx Measurement and Downlink Waveform File software options will support non-signaling based 5G Sub-6 GHz TRx tests.

 
With the publication in December 2017 of the specifications of the 5G NR (Release 15) standards defined by the 3GPP(*), telecom operators should deploy 5G services from the beginning of 2019. Technical tests should be conducted in the field by then.

Although the 5G NR 3GPP standard defines the use of frequency bands up to 52.6 GHz, the first deployments will focus on frequency bands below 6 GHz which have the advantage of offering services with frequencies close to 4G LTE while the 5G will be fully efficient around 2020. The adoption of this standard below 6 GHz should be a first step for manufacturers of 5G devices.

The MT8870A universal wireless tester is a platform for production test of wireless communication equipment and modules. The chassis incorporates four independent test modules, operating independently to perform measurements simultaneously and in parallel on four wireless devices or modules.

With a frequency band up to 6 GHz and a 160 MHz bandwidth, the MT8870A platform does not, according to Anritsu, require an upgrade to support 5G test conditions below 6 GHz as defined by the 3GPP.

The MT8870A platform can also be used for production test of the next generation of mobile devices incorporating 4G, 5G, 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5 technologies.
 

(*) 3GPP (3rd Gene ration Partnership Project) is the consortium that defines and publishes technical specifications for 3G and 4G (4th generation) mobile networks. It includes various international telecom standardization bodies: ITU (International Telecommunication Union), ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute), ARIB/TTC (Japan), CCSA (China), ATIS (North America) and TTA (South Korea).
3GPP also provides support and upgrades to GSM specifications for mobile telecommunications standards such as GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, LTE and LTE Advanced.