5G requires the installation and deployment of many new cell sites and small cells. All must be turned on quickly so operators can deliver 5G services and earn new revenue. As they move to 5G, operators need to support, maintain and test both the new and existing wireless technologies, e.g., 3G, 4G/LTE and 5G NR. At the same time, new bands, cell densification and 5G innovations—beamforming and massive MIMO, mmWave spectrum and CBRS and C-Band—make the RF environment complex to navigate for operators and field technicians. Unresolved, RF issues will impact network capacity, quality of service, the subscriber experience and revenue.
All this results in significant operational challenges and the need for new and innovative test capabilities. To get the most from their investment, operators need field-focused RF testing that scales and adapts as networks change. To address this requirement, EXFO applied its field-focused expertise to RF testing and created an innovative, modular solution that will adapt as networks transform.
5GPro Spectrum Analyzer
Figure 1 The 5GPro Spectrum Analyzer measures the FR1 and FR2 bands and is field upgradeable.
The 5GPro Spectrum Analyzer is the first field technology optimized, scalable RF spectrum analyzer (see Figure 1). Balancing functionality and portability in a compact design for accurate over-the-air (OTA) measurements, it’s the only modular, RF testing solution that provides accurate visibility into 4G/LTE and 5G NR environments. This single, field-upgradable solution has the capability to analyze both the FR1 (i.e., sub-6 GHz) and FR2 (mmWave) bands. Designed specifically for field technicians—with simplicity-of-use in mind—the 5GPro Spectrum Analyzer enables users to easily identify and resolve issues and close out jobs faster. The key features and benefits of the 5GPro Spectrum Analyzer are:
- First field-upgradable RF test system, meaning no downtime for factory upgrades
- The industry’s only modular RF testing solution, with the option to start with FR1 and add FR2 as requirements change
- “Smart” graphical interface simplifies RF testing and saves time
- Real-time spectrum analysis (RTSA) bandwidth to 100 MHz, with 5G NR demodulation and beamforming analysis, time-division duplexing (TDD) and LTE signal analysis
- Integrated with the cloud for centralized management of the workflow and sharing results.
CAPABILITIES
RTSA — The 5GPro Spectrum Analyzer provides RTSA, enabling continuous acquisition of RF signals with 100 MHz of analysis bandwidth. Quick characterization of wireless signals and detection of intermittent interference is possible with the combination of the RTSA persistence and spectrogram views (see Figure 2).
Figure 2 3D spectrogram in the RTSA mode.
Figure 3 Snap-to-Peak feature.
Figure 4 5G NR demodulation with beam and signal analysis.
The 5GPro Spectrum Analyzer brings innovation and intelligence to RF testing with a smart user interface featuring built-in expertise and patent-pending features like intelligent peak detection and Snap-to-Peak (see Figure 3). With Snap-to-Peak, field technicians can use the touch screen to identify interferers through a moveable window, enabling them to search for the highest amplitude interferer and attach a marker.
5G NR Signal Analyzer — A 5G NR signal analyzer application demodulates 5G NR signals to validate the OTA performance of cell sites, helping ensure the communications link with user equipment (see Figure 4). The application provides beamforming metrics, analyzing up to 64 beams and displaying the 12 strongest beams with their corresponding power measurements.
TDD Gated Sweep — TDD is a transmission technique where the uplink and downlink signals are transmitted on the same frequency and use independent, synchronized timed intervals. Both spectrum and interference analysis of TDD signals require a measurement technique called gated sweep. It facilitates visualization of the uplink and downlink spectrum by displaying data within a specified range of timeslots.
4G/LTE Analysis — The LTE signal analyzer demodulates 4G/LTE signals to validate the OTA performance of cell sites and provides key metrics: sector and group ID, physical cell ID (PCI), duplexing mode (frequency or time), RSRP (dBm), RSRQ (dB) and RSSI (dBm).
A SINGLE, COMPLETE TEST SOLUTION
EXFO’s 5GPro Spectrum Analyzer is available on the FTB 5GPro Test Kit for a complete all-in-one solution to validate 4G and 5G networks. The FTB 5GPro also supports fiber inspection and characterization, CPRI/eCPRI/O-RAN, RF spectrum analysis over CPRI (iORF), Ethernet (up to 100G) and timing and synchronization with a high accuracy GNSS receiver, making it 90 percent faster to validate timing accuracy. EXFO’s comprehensive solution reduces the number of devices field technicians must carry, speeding jobs and reducing the total cost of ownership for operators and contractors.
There is much more to 5G than increasing the speed of the network. 5G promises revolutionary uses cases that will change the way mobile networks are implemented and used by society. Understandably, this new world brings different challenges in installing, operating and maintaining networks. Operators will require innovative processes and tools to test existing and new technologies and be flexible and scalable to handle what comes next. They must be portable and easy to use, so field technicians and contractors can do more in less time and at a lower cost.
EXFO
Montreal, Canada
bit.ly/5GProSpectrumAnalyzer
1-800-663-3936