In a joint effort, Rohde & Schwarz and Qualcomm Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Inc., have extensively tested the user plane throughput of the new Qualcomm® Gobi™ 9x35 chipset in compliance with 3GPP Release 10 for LTE-Advanced. In the setup on display at Mobile World Congress, the R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester from Rohde & Schwarz simulates the LTE-Advanced network. As the only platform in the industry that combines RF and protocol tests with Cat6 IP throughput measurements, the tester supports full stack verification up to the application layer in a single box.
Results showed that in addition to supporting the aggregation of two component carriers (each with a bandwidth of 20 MHz) and delivering a 300 Mbps data rate in the downlink, the Gobi 9x35 chipset also provides extraordinary stability. User equipment based on the chipset will enable mobile operators worldwide who have acquired additional segmented spectrum to offer their subscribers higher peak data rates in future applications. With this achievement, Rohde & Schwarz and Qualcomm Technologies provide benefits across the entire supply chain and speed up the commercial launch of LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation functionality.
The R&S CMW500 is the perfect choice for test labs seeking maximum flexibility in measurement equipment. The wideband radio communication tester offers the performance necessary for advanced testing of the required 300 Mbps data rate up to the IP level for Cat6 in the downlink. It also supports two 20 MHz component carriers in the downlink – including 2x2 or 4x2 MIMO – without any band or bandwidth restrictions. Before now, scenarios for LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation were usually implemented with two 10 MHz component carriers and 150 Mbps total data rate in the downlink (category 4). Devices operating to Cat6 performance standards make it possible to double this data rate.
The options for RF tests and protocol tests for LTE-Advanced downlink carrier aggregation for LTE FDD and LTE TDD are now available from Rohde & Schwarz. The setup is on display at the Rohde & Schwarz booth C40 in hall 6 at Mobile World Congress 2014.