Keysight Technologies, Inc. announced that its new handheld measurement software (Nemo Handy) uses Android-based commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) smartphones for verification of 5G new radio (NR) quality-of-service  and quality-of-experience in the field.

According to the Global Mobile Suppliers Association, the rapid pace of 5G deployments is expected to accelerate with more than one-hundred mobile operators having launched global commercial 5G services to date. The number of announced 5G devices in the past twelve months has doubled, reaching over four-hundred and forty in October 2020.  Access to commercial, non-rooted devices speeds testing across different end-user scenarios, network technology implementations and propagation environments.

Keysight's new version of Nemo Handy Handheld Measurement software allows mobile operators and vendors to quickly verify QoE as experienced by users of different 5G devices as soon as these become commercially available on a market where delivery of superior 5G services is key to securing early revenue opportunities. In addition, Keysight's new Nemo Diagnostics Module, an external hardware unit, enables users of the new Nemo Handy software to easily access non-rooted, 5G COTS smartphones.

"Nemo Handy software is currently used by more than four hundred mobile operators around the world," said Petri Toljamo, vice president and general manager for Nemo wireless solutions at Keysight. "It applies particularly well to capturing network quality measurements inside of buildings, where most of mobile traffic is generated."

Key customer benefits of Nemo Handy measurement software include:

• Plug and play set-up, without the need for special firmware, when switching from one 5G COTS smartphone to another to initiate a new series of measurements
• Extended measurement functionality, cost-effective voice quality testing across different 5G devices and support for up to two devices via Keysight's new Nemo Diagnostics Module
• Chipset-agnostic software that supports comparable measurements between devices built on various chipsets from different vendors.
• Instant uploading of small-sized log files captured in the field, as well as optional remote management and quick analysis using Nemo Cloud

As a handheld drive test tool for performing both outdoor and indoor measurements, Nemo Handy offers real-time measurement visualization of radio frequency, as well as data throughput, latency and signaling. Keysight's version of Nemo Handy that runs on a rooted smartphone allows users to troubleshoot a live 5G network with an active subscriber base and perform a wide range of measurements, including QoE of social media and over the top type of applications such as YouTube.