Anritsu Corporation announced that the first enhanced network slicing and user equipment (UE) power-saving Protocol Conformance Tests for 5G New Radio (NR) Standalone (SA) have been verified on the 5G NR Mobile Device Test Platform ME7834NR powered by the Snapdragon® X65 5G Modem-RF System, the industry’s first Release 16 modem-RF system. 

Network slicing is a key 5G NR feature that enables support of specific use cases on a network slice, which is a set of network resources dynamically configured for the purpose. Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 16 introduces support for interworking from Evolved Packet Core to 5G Core for network slices and introduces authentication and authorization controls. 

Power saving for UE is another area where 3GPP Release 16 has defined a number of new features, such as wake up signal, enhanced cross-slot scheduling, adaptive MIMO layer reduction and relaxed radio resource management measurement. 

“3GPP Release 16, which is described as the next stage for 5G NR, enables new use cases and monetization opportunities for vertical industry segments,” said Shinya Ajiro, general manager of Mobile Solutions Division at Anritsu Corporation. “We are proud that our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. enables us to help the industry to implement and test the new features quickly.” 

The conformance tests are defined by 3GPP in TS 38.523-1 corresponding to core requirements in TS 38.331and have been submitted to 3GPP Radio Access Network Working Group 5 (RAN WG5) by Anritsu. These tests will also be submitted to Global Certification Forum (GCF) Certification Agreement Group and PCS Type Certification Review Board (PTCRB) Validation Group for approval in the upcoming meetings. 

5G NR Mobile Device Test Platform ME7834NR Outline 

The 5G NR Mobile Device Test Platform ME7834NR is registered with both the GCF and PTCRB as Test Platform 251.  

The ME7834NR is a test platform for 3GPP-based protocol conformance test and carrier acceptance testing of mobile devices incorporating multiple radio access technologies. It supports 5G NR in both standalone and non-standalone, in addition to LTE, LTE-Advanced, LTE-A Pro and W-CDMA. When combined with Anritsu’s OTA RF chamber MA8171A and RF converters, the ME7834NR covers the sub-6 GHz and mmWave 5G NR frequency bands.