Keysight Technologies, Inc. announced that the company has contributed to a technical report published by 3GPP on MIMO over-the-air (OTA) testing that will help the wireless industry accelerate advanced 5G device performance validation.

Keysight contributed more than 35 submissions to the technical report (TR) 38.827 officially approved by 3GPP on July 3. This technical report defines radiated metrics and test methodology for verifying multi-antenna reception performance of a user equipment such as a smartphone or other handheld device operating in frequency range 1 (FR1) or FR2.

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Successful collaboration with the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) resulted in the first benchmarking of a 5G 4x4 MIMO device in FR1 using test procedures and channel models described in 3GPP TR 38.827 and Keysight's PROPSIM 5G channel emulator and UXM 5G wireless test platform.

"Thanks to Keysight and other key contributors to the 3GPP MIMO OTA study item, the industry can effectively benchmark the performance of 5G devices equipped with various types of antenna designs and chipsets in a standardized MIMO OTA test environment," said Dr. Ruixin Wang, CAICT RAN4 prime delegate and rapporteur of 3GPP OTA work items.

"Keysight is helping a connected ecosystem bring to market high-performing wireless devices for advanced 5G applications with a clear understanding of test and measurement complexities shaped by 5G new radio and supporting technologies such as MIMO," said Roger Nichols, 5G program manager and director of wireless standards at Keysight. "Keysight's long-standing engagement in the main wireless standards development organizations and consortia, combined with a cohesive portfolio of OTA test solutions, supports the advancement of 5G development and commercialization around the world."

This 3GPP milestone supports chipset and device makers in the process of verifying the performance 5G devices equipped with up to four antenna transmitters (4 x 4 MIMO). Keysight contributed by:

  • Defining channel models for generating a valid test propagation environment and the evaluation of test methods for measuring the data throughput a device transmits.
  • Defining MIMO OTA systems to ensure repeatability and stability in test results.

Keysight offers a wide range of test platforms for verifying 5G devices that use MIMO technology and high-performance antennas to the deliver superior data rates that advanced 5G applications rely on. Keysight's new Advanced Performance Test Toolset supports test cases specified by 3GPP for FR2 MIMO OTA testing, enabling an expanding ecosystem to validate 5G device performance under accurate and real-world conditions using 3D fading and mobility scenarios.