Rohde & Schwarz sets out 5G/6G stall at MWC 2024

A large part of the Rohde & Schwarz booth will be dedicated to solutions that enable the mobile ecosystem and empower next-generation connectivity. Visitors will experience the transition from 5G to 5G Advanced through several demonstration of the R&S CMX500 one-box 5G signalling tester (OBT) and other state-of-the-art radio communication testers.

In a demo setup, the R&S CMX500 mobile radio tester will simulate a wide range of network conditions to ensure NTN-NR devices perform flawlessly anywhere in the world.

Paving the way for the 5G NR FR3 frequency band, which will provide wider bandwidth to tomorrow’s mobile networks, the R&S CMX500 and R&S CMP200 radio communication testers are ready for R&D and production tests. At MWC, visitors will see signalling and non-signalling measurements, supporting the respective frequency range from four to 20 GHz.

Also featuring are FR1 RF and RRM measurements with the smallest footprint in the market. Rohde & Schwarz has enhanced the R&S CMX500 to provide 3GPP conformance tests for radio resource management and RF inband in a single box.

Looking beyond 5G and onward to 6G, Rohde & Schwarz will exhibit a number of concise test solutions in Barcelona to enable applied research for example in the Terahertz regime in the D-Band (110 to 170 GHz). Part of these demonstrations will be the new R&S SFI100A wideband IF vector signal generator.

The compact, user-friendly instrument features a very wide RF modulation bandwidth of up to 10 GHz and generates fully calibrated IF signals. In collaboration with NVIDIA, Rohde & Schwarz advanced its hardware-in-the-loop test bed for a neural receiver and added custom modulation capabilities.

This demonstration extends the idea of an AI-native air interface concept for 6G, which both companies already introduced during last year's MWC event. It now encompasses both the receiver and the transmitter side, marking a significant leap in exploring AI's potential in future wireless communications.

While NTN-NR is still in the making, NTN NB-IoT technology is already bringing wireless connectivity to remote areas that do not have access to terrestrial networks for use cases like SOS messaging or remote monitoring. The R&S CMW500 covers testing needs from R&D to conformance and operator testing for NB-IoT NTN, not only supporting protocol, RRM and RF conformance testing in line with 3GPP, but also the Skylo test plan – all in a single box.

3GPP Rel.17 introduced 5G RedCap (reduced capability), enabling a new set of IoT devices. 5G RedCap modems are less complex, use less spectrum bandwidth, consume less power and work only in standalone (SA) mode. The R&S CMX500 OBT lite is prepared to address all testing aspects of such devices, including power consumption testing, a very important KPI for chipsets manufacturers and OEMs.

One solution on display for the automotive industry covers 5G NG eCall testing featuring the R&S CMX500 OBT 5G signalling tester along with the R&S SMBV100B GNSS satellite simulator.

Another demo features the R&S CMP180 radio communication tester with the newly added 5G V2X testing in addition to existing LTE based C-V2X. Now all V2X technologies are supported (LTE, NR, 11p).