CTIA 2011 took place in Orlando, FL, this year March 22-24. The last couple of years the show was held in Las Vegas, NV. It will move to New Orleans, LA, for 2012 and also make a move to early May instead of its usual mid-March date. Of course, the biggest news at the show this year was the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile which was on everyone’s mind at the show.
The first keynote was packed as everyone wanted to hear what AT&T and T-Mobile executives had to say about their proposed $39 B deal that would create the country’s largest wireless operator. AT&T understandably did not say much and T-Mobile was not there. CEO Dan Hesse of Sprint expressed concern as he said there would be 79 percent market share in the top two providers so he has concerns it would stifle innovation if that much power was in the hands of two providers. That is a valid point and of course his message is that it is not a good idea.
Lots of 4G phones and tablets were at the show but there seemed to be significant activity with 3D devices which I did not expect. The hot topics for us microwave folks were MIMO OTA testing, PIM, interference issues and LTE deployment. Many people were saying that Mobile World Congress did not cover LTE enough and that CTIA should take the reins as the LTE show, and I think they did a pretty good job of that.
The RF/Microwave Zone was our first priority as that is where many of the companies we cover are present. We were glad to welcome Infineon and NXP this year in addition to many other companies who have exhibited in years before. With Freescale also in the Zone, there is of course a major representation of high performance Doherty LDMOS amplifier technology. All are offering various configurations (symmetric, asymmetric, single package solutions, etc.). NXP and Freescale are offering a lower cost plastic package with up to 200 W of power which seemed unique.
Also near the RF/Microwave Zone were the Backhaul Pavilion, M2M Zone and Test & Measurement Pavilion so we were perfectly situated. Microwave Journal ran the first MIMO OTA Expert Forum on Thursday, which was simulcast online so anyone could attend. It included featured speakers from Agilent, ETS Lindgren, EB and Spirent plus a question and answer session after the presentations for both live and online participants. The presentations included the recommendations from each company on MIMO OTA testing solutions and the audience questions were very informative. The session will be posted for on-demand viewing on the Microwave Journal website in the Resources section.
To follow are product highlights that RF/microwave companies had on display including some video demos:
Agilent was featuring many test and measurement solutions including LTE, LTE-Advanced, 3GPP W-CDMA, HSPA+, E-EDGE (EDGE Evolution), UMA/GAN, WiMAX, 802.11ac WLAN, and femtocells. Agilent demonstrated LTE-Advanced waveform generation and analysis with physical layer test using Agilent’s MXG signal generator combined with the newest Signal Studio capability. The solution can perform analysis with the powerful combination of the Agilent PXA signal analyzer and the 89600B vector signal analysis software with LTE-Advanced. Also their Real-time fading test for user equipment using Agilent’s PXB baseband generator and channel emulator and Agilent’s 8960 Series 10 Wireless Communications Test Set. Another demonstration was for installation, maintenance and spectrum monitoring of RF systems in the field using Agilent’s new N9344C and N9343C handheld spectrum analyzers and flexible N9912A and N9923A FieldFox RF analyzers. They also announced that its 89600B vector signal analysis software is now able to test 802.11ac signals, which is the first dedicated signal analysis solution on the market. Agilent also announced a new SystemVue 802.11ac library, the W1917EP WLAN baseband verification library, which interoperates with the 89600B VSA 802.11ac software (see their video demos).
Aeroflex displayed a wide range of test solutions and announced that they worked closely with NTT DOCOMO to support the successful testing, rollout, and launch of their Xi LTE network (December 2010 go live). Aeroflex provided a suite of test tools to support the development for one of the first LTE networks. They also announced the addition of critical voice and data testing capability for the 7100 LTE Digital Radio Test Set. The Aeroflex 7100 Option 104 now has added test capability for simultaneous emulation of LTE data and 1X CDMA voice, which is known as SV-LTE (Simultaneous Voice–Long Term Evolution).
Anritsu was displaying their broad line of handheld test products including their spectrum analyzer (see video). The MS2711E Spectrum Master delivers the ease of use, rich functionality, and best-in-class price/performance and is designed to handle the most punishing field conditions. Measurements include received signal strength (RSSI), channel power, adjacent channel power ratio (APCR), and occupied bandwidth measurements that can confirm the distortion level or channel power level of an AMPS, TDMA, CDMA or GSM transmitter. Anritsu is also offering exciting content called their Toughest Site Competition where you could win something equally tough: a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Simply tell them how you and your Anritsu gear endure some of the toughest cell sites in America. Submit your entries online.
We were impressed with the Azimuth MIMO OTA test system that is reported to be the first automated, portable end-to-end test solution for OTA testing (see video). It is a portable (on wheels) isotropic reverb chamber that is fully automated with a nice software system to run tests easily for portable devices of any type.
Berkeley Varitronics Systems showcased its advanced portable 4G LTE Yellowfin analyzer. It uses a Panasonic Toughbook as an interface in conjunction with Berkeley’s precision receiver for a complete spectrum analysis as well as LTE physical layer demodulation. The receiver sweeps from 700 MHz to 2.2 GHz or 2 to 5.9 GHz depending on the model.
Crystek was showing the Ezee connect 18 GHz precision cable assemblies with IL of 0.58 dB/ft at 18 GHz and VSWR less than 1.3 from DC to 18 GHz. They also had on hand high pass filters (HPFL Series) from 100 MHz to 1 GHz. Crystek made mention that SAW BPFs are coming along with the currently available connectors that they use with their cable assemblies.
EB was one of our featured speakers at our MIMO OTA forum as a well respected expert in the field of test and measurement (see video). They were featuring their Propsim F8 MIMO OTA emulator that has advanced and fully repeatable channel emulation capabilities for MIMO OTA testing. The MIMO OTA solution consists of a test transmitter, the EB Propsim F8 with the EB MIMO OTA application, an anechoic chamber equipped with OTA antennas and a DUT with multiple antennas.
Electro Rent Corp. was showing off their test and measurement rental equipment (rental, lease, finance and purchase options) including AFL Telecommunications, Agilent, Anritsu, Boonton, CCI, Exfo, Ixia, JDSU and R&S. They had the PIMPro precision passive intermod analyzer by CCI on display which is a nice portable unit that provides precise odd order IM measurements up to the 9th order on any system or component under high power conditions.
Freescale is expanding its GaAs MMIC line with broadband LNAs in addition to their current offerings. Of course, they were showing off their Doherty amplifiers in various configurations such as single chip, dual chip and symmetrical designs. They have expanded their HV8 products by introducing 17+ products. They also had their very high power ISM device on display with a whopping 1.25 kW of power to over 500 MHz and can withstand a VSWR of 65:1.
Infineon had on display Doherty amplifiers with 600 W, 45 percent efficiency at 1800 MHz in addition to various CMOS switches and ESD protection TVS diodes. The TVS diodes have the lowest capacitance and smallest form factor available and good for applications such as USB 3.0.
Innertron had on display filters, front-end units, power distribution units/ bias-tees, repeaters/boosters, waveguide products, up/down converters, passive components, connectors and cable assemblies. They offer a very board range of products.
JFW was showing off their new variable attenuator with 0 to 63 dB attenuation in 1 dB steps (200 MHz to 6 GHz). The mini benchtop models are JFW’s latest line of attenuator assemblies. These units are DC powered using a wall transformer that is shipped with each unit. The current attenuation of each variable attenuator is displayed on the front panel. The variable attenuators can be controlled remotely or manually.
Kaelus was displaying their PIM test equipment and had a nice whitepaper on Range to Fault (RTF) to determine the location of “static” PIM sources. They have developed a RTF technology similar to that used in VSWR testing to help identify the location of these static PIM sources.
MI Technologies was showing off their active MIMO measurement solution. The RTS60 is a reverb chamber test system that emulates a rich and isotropic multipath environment. The electronic control system in the RTS60 is new and can easily be upgraded to active MIMO measurements capability from the beginning or at a later stage.
NXP had Doherty amplifiers with DPD with 65 MHz BW at 2.4 GHz. They were showing off various configurations including dual chip, symmetric and asymmetric designs. They are now offering plastic packaged devices to 200 W up to 3.8 GHz that are drop-in replacements for ceramic. They also were showing how they offer devices for the full transmitter chain and NFC chips. They had some impressive LNAs for the portable market that are highly integrated SiGe designs that only need two external components and available in very small packages (1.45 X 1 mm).
Park Electrochemical was featuring their Nelco electronic materials that are RoHS compliant and include materials for high temperature lead-free assembly, modified epoxies for high temperature and increased reliability applications, high speed/low loss materials, BT/polyimide/cyanate ester substrates and specialized RF/microwave dielectric substrates that operate up to 77 GHz.
RF Morecom is a Korean leading supplier of RF and microwave passive and active products. They supply a wide variety of products including duplexers, resonators, dividers/combiners, couplers, attenuators and antennas components along with modules for GSM, WCDMA and WiMAX. They also make higher level assemblies such as triplexers, power distribution units HPAs, repeaters, etc.
RF Window was featuring their Interference Cancellation System (ICS) that eliminates multi-path signals, including direct and indirect feedback caused by moving obstacles to product from oscillation problems. Their ICS Digital Relay has made repeater engineering much simpler and their advanced DSP technology reduces the complexity of deployment.
Rohde and Schwarz had many announcements for the show and a wide range of products on display. R&S offers a wide range of signal generators and signal analyzers to meet the development and production needs of manufacturers of RF components, base stations and mobile user equipment. The R&S SMU200A high-end vector signal generator and the R&S SMBV100A vector signal generator can generate nearly every type of standard-compliant LTE signal. The R&S SMU200A can carry out performance tests on receivers with fading and noise. The R&S FSQ high-end signal and spectrum analyzer is available for signal analysis and the R&S FSV for general-purpose applications. The R&S CMW500 wideband communication tester is the ideal solution for all phases of the development and production of chipsets and wireless devices. The R&S TS8980 is a scalable RF test system for developing LTE capable wireless devices. And with the R&S ZVH, installation teams can set up significantly more antenna systems in the same amount of time compared to the competition. When more in depth analysis capability or LTE signal demodulation is required, users can opt for the R&S FSH4 and R&S FSH8 handheld spectrum analyzers (see their video demo).
Rosenberger was featuring their portable site PIM analyzers designed for on-site testing under hard field conditions. It uses a weather resistant case with wheels and retractable handle. The LCD is visible in bright sunlight and protected in the lid from falling objects. The DIN female connector is field replaceable and it contains everything needed to test at Type-N and 7/16 DIN interfaces.
Satimo, a Microwave Vision company, recently introduced StarMIMO, a new solution for testing wireless broadband devices. The have a demo setup at their facility in France for testing MIMO OTA devices and systems. We look forward to more information on this development.
Spinner had a large presence at the show and featured their low PIM products and solutions. They had been dealing with PIM for many years even though it has only recently become a hot issue. They displayed their PIM solutions kit and low PIM products – see their video for more details.
Times Microwave was showing off their LMR-SW smoothwall cables that have a thin wall, seamless Al outer conductor that results in low loss, light weight and flexible. There are no seams or holes that reduces a low PIM of -170 dBc. They offer low VSWR and attenuation, 10 year warranty and Type N or 716 DIN connectors.
Trilithic was displaying various components including their PRF tunable filter series with 30 to 512 MHz tuning. These filters utilize a passive tunable IC licensed from Paratek Microwave (reduces the size) designed for Defense and Homeland security applications. In addition, the highlighted their AWS duplexer designed for applications which require a high level of TX-RX isolation and the LTE duplexer for Band 13 with low insertion loss and high isolation in a compact package.
Tru was located right next to Microwave Journal in the RF/Microwave Pavilion and they were showing off their high performance cable assemblies. TRU has re-engineered assemblies such as high power connectors that easily clip on, Al connector for airborne applications, quick disconnect assemblies for semiconductor applications. They were featuring their general purpose test cables that combine MIL standard test grade interfaces with flexible and durable cable construction to provide repeatable, reliable performance and long service life. They have matched performance to 18 GHz.
