Chip set makers get 5G RedCap test solution
Summary
It will launch a new wave of devices that bridge the capability and complexity gap between low-speed NB-IoT and other, earlier standards, and the extremes in 5G today with an optimised design for mid-tier use cases such as sensors in industrial automation, smart cameras and wearables. 5G RedCap lightweight technologies include reducing the number of antennas on devices, making them less complex, using less spectrum bandwidth, consuming significantly less power, and working only in standalone (SA) mode compared to equipment designed for eMBB use-cases. The enhancements on the R&S CMX500 OBT lite enable manufacturers of IoT chipsets, modems and end devices to verify the different aspects of 5G RedCap as defined in 3GPP Rel.17 in the R&D phase, pertaining to network access restrictions, bandwidth parts (BWP) and bandwidth part switching, power saving and other 5G RedCap specific protocol signaling procedures, among others. The test solution is suitable for all 5G mobile devices and chipsets and support all possible 5G NR network deployments and frequency ranges, including FR1, FR2 and LTE bands, in a single instrument. Christoph Pointner, Senior Vice President of Mobile Radio Testers at Rohde & Schwarz, says: “5G RedCap will bring IoT into the 5G realm.