Rohde & Schwarz will enable handset manufacturers and mobile operators worldwide to test and verify LBS (Location Based Services) operation in 5G NR devices.

Rohde & Schwarz, in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Inc., have successfully verified an A-GPS control-plane LPP test session over 5G NR using a device powered by the Snapdragon X55 5G modem and Qualcomm® RF front-end solutions. The device was able to successfully establish a 5G non-standalone (NSA) connection and then perform GPS fixes according to 3GPP requirements.

Location determination technologies play a critical role in today’s commercial mobile wireless devices. As services become more personalized, LBS is expected to play even a bigger role in 5G. Given this importance, along with the introduction of new satellite location technologies in mobile phones such as modernized GPS (L5) and GALILEO, it is critical that LBS performance of mobile devices is verified extensively in a lab environment before commercial launch. The R&S TS-LBS test system, which consists of the R&S CMX500 and R&S CMW500 radio communication testers and the R&S SMBV100B vector signal generator, covers 3GPP conformance and network operator test plans for 5G NR, LTE, WLAN, WCDMA and GSM location based services. Test coverage includes all minimum performance and protocol tests, which can easily be extended to cover R&D-level control testing or VoNR E911 in 5G NR Standalone mode.

Bryan Helmick, product manager for mobile radio testers at Rohde & Schwarz USA Inc., explains: “Our goal was to provide our customers with a test solution that is extremely flexible and covers all aspects of LBS device testing for legacy and next generation technologies such as 5G NR. This effort between Rohde & Schwarz and Qualcomm Technologies helps to validate LBS systems worldwide while furthering the commercial rollout of 5G NR.”