Support for Wi-Fi 6E: ETS-Lindgren and Anritsu

The Wi-Fi 6E test package for EMQuest can be applied to existing OTA test systems as an upgrade and is recommended for all new systems testing Wi-Fi SISO or MIMO configurations. User equipment developers and access point manufacturers can easily upgrade their OTA chambers to characterise and validate the increasingly pivotal role Wi-Fi plays in user satisfaction.

EMQuest EMQ-100 offers a wide range of fully parameterised test methods for measuring basic antenna performance metrics, as well as testing both radiated and conducted performance of various wireless devices. Flexible in its design, the EMQuest EMQ-100 can be used to analyse antennas in stand-alone applications, or to test an embedded antenna system and radio module against any of the industry standard OTA-radiated performance test requirements.

Anritsu’s Wireless Connectivity Test Set MT8862A supports Wi-Fi technologies, including 802.11ax in 80MHz legacy bands and 160MHz in the Wi-Fi 6E band. The Anritsu MT8862A, dedicated to the WLAN standard, is optimised for stable and reliable connections with wider dynamic range, even in a faded environment. It is enhanced with a new radio module to support the 6 GHz band and 160 MHz channels, in addition to existing 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band support. The test configuration is easily expanded to support 2x2 MIMO measurements using two MT8862A WLAN testers.

6GHz has for a long time been the upper frequency limit of most public communication systems. This is now changing with the WLAN standard IEEE 802.11ax expanding up to 7.125GHz range (“Wi-Fi 6E”). The company claims the growth of WLAN connected devices and services are expected to benefit greatly from this increase in available frequency space and number of 160MHz channels.

ETS-Lindgren’s flexible approach to instrumentation remains a key advantage for OTA test labs. ETS-Lindgren has a long tradition in supporting all major instrumentation manufacturers, including those addressing the new 5G, Bluetoothand Wi-Fi technologies.

James Young, Director of Business Development with ETS-Lindgren said: "Our software team does a top notch job at supporting the constantly evolving OTA measurement requirements. Feedback from system users tells us the flexibility to choose best-in-class instrumentation across brand and model number is a key decision point in our favor. While it is not easy to keep up with all the firmware and hardware changes happening in wireless technologies, great partners like Anritsu really help.”

Industry benefits from this collaboration and the availability of instrument-agnostic EMQuest software.

Anritsu Market Development Manager, Keyvan Yasami, added: “Expanding the frequency range to 6GHz spectrum and addition of 160MHz bandwidth supports the most recent regulatory and industry requirements for conformance and performance evaluation. This addition enables R&D applications as well as certification testing in a single integrated test platform. It continues Anritsu’s commitment to developing solutions that meet the design test requirements associated with emerging technologies.”