Keysight First to Gain PTCRB Validation of Test Cases, Accelerating Certification of 5G Devices

Keysight Technologies, Inc. announced that the company's S8705A RF/RRM and design validation test (DVT) Conformance Toolset was used to gain PTCRB validation of test cases that accelerate certification of 5G devices that support carrier aggregation (CA) technology using frequency range 1 (FR1) spectrum. 

Keysight's S8705A RF/RRM and DVT Conformance Toolset is part of the company's suite of 4G and 5G network emulation solutions, which support a certification program operated by PTCRB, an organization comprised of North American mobile operators. The new test cases enable chipset and device makers to verify that 5G NR designs comply to the latest 3GPP Release 15 specifications in terms of RF performance.

"This PTCRB test case validation is essential to the global 5G device ecosystem that needs to support high downlink data speeds using frequency bands in widely available sub-6 GHz spectrum," said Muthu Kumaran, general manager of Keysight's device validation solutions business. "High data rate speeds are required in a wide range of 5G smartphone use cases, including video streaming, conferencing and gaming."

Mobile operators are deploying 5G NR in standalone (SA) mode to deliver faster connection times and speeds and flexibly create network slices. Keysight is first to gain PTCRB approval for test cases that cover verification of 5G designs in SA mode with CA support, leveraging three component carriers in downlink in sub-6 GHz (FR1) bands.

Keysight received the approval at the PTCRB Validation Group meeting, held February 15 to 17, 2022. At the meeting, Keysight also obtained PTCRB validation approval for test cases that speed radio resource management (RRM) performance validation of devices in two angles of arrival (2AoA) test scenarios, as well as RF demodulation performance validation of 5G mmWave devices. In August 2021, Keysight's RF/RRM and DVT conformance toolset was used to gain the industry's first PTCRB validation of RRM test cases specified for validating 5G NR devices in 2AoA test scenarios.

Keysight continues to support the highest number of 5G RF, RRM and protocol conformance test cases mandated by PTCRB. Early access to validated test cases enables 5G device vendors to continuously evolve with the latest specifications and cost-effectively meet market demand in a timely manner.