Rohde & Schwarz Supports Wake Up Signal Test for Improved Power Efficiency in NB-IoT Devices

Rohde & Schwarz and the cellular IoT company CommSolid by Goodix have partnered up to demonstrate the effectiveness of the NB-IoT Release 15 feature wake up signal in reducing the power consumption of NB-IoT devices. Test functions newly implemented on an R&S CMW290 Functional Radio Communication Tester are employed to outline the difference in power consumption for NB-IoT devices with and without the wake up signal technology.

Reducing the power consumption of NB-IoT devices is critical to increase the duration of the device’s reliable active life. 3GPP Release 15 introduces the wake up signal, a special paging signal sent from an NB-IoT base station to specific NB-IoT devices, informing the devices to wake up the main receiver, in preparation for receiving paging data. The main receiver only needs to wake up when it is informed; an NB-IoT device with the wake up signal implemented remains in idle mode until informed to decode the physical downlink control channel for a paging occasion.

Only Rohde & Schwarz radio communication testers have implemented the many new NB-IoT features introduced with 3GPP Releases 14 and 15. The R&S CMW500 and R&S CMW290 both introduced wake up signal support, among other Release 15 features, with the most recent firmware releases.

Managing Director of CommSolid Matthias Weiss stated, “Lowest power consumption is one of the key drivers in NB-IoT driven applications. Testing new 3GPP features early on allows our customers to leverage this advantage throughout their product design cycles.”

Vice President of Mobile Radio Testers at Rohde & Schwarz Anton Messmer added, “Rohde & Schwarz is committed to providing T&M support for NB-IoT functions that device manufacturers are planning to introduce with commercially viable products. We greatly appreciate cooperation with early adopters, to verify the validity of our implementation of 3GPP-specified functions.”