Microwave Journal
www.microwavejournal.com/articles/30736-keysight-joins-5g-device-forerunner-initiative-led-by-china-mobile

Keysight Joins 5G Device Forerunner Initiative Led by China Mobile

July 19, 2018

Keysight Technologies Inc. announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CMCC (China Mobile Communication Corporation) in support of the 5G Device Forerunner Initiative project. The program’s large-scale 5G trials aim to accelerate development and industry maturity of 5G devices.

The 5G Device Forerunner Initiative, established by CMCC at MWC 2018, brings together more than 20 of the industry's most influential and capable chipset manufacturers, component manufacturers and end-solution providers to form a strong industry ecosystem, encouraging 5G device innovation and accelerating 5G device commercialization. To address the project’s goal of delivering mature 5G chipsets, devices, components and instruments that meet China Mobile's requirements, the large-scale 5G trials rely on Keysight’s suite of industry-first 5G NR network emulation solutions to perform device characterization, design validation and conformance verification.

"We are pleased to extend our close collaboration with China Mobile in support of a connected ecosystem to realize the full potential of 5G across a wide range of applications and devices", says Satish Dhanasekaran, senior vice president of Keysight Technologies, and president of the Communications Solutions Group. "Keysight brings industry-leading 5G expertise and 5G test solutions to the project, supporting China Mobile’s strategic goals of promoting 5G development towards 5G’s commercialization in 2020."

The project aims to accomplish full protocol stack development based on 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) and Standalone (SA) 3GPP Release 15 as well as complete interoperability tests with at least one chipset platform. The project will also gain Global Certification Forum (GCF) approval for a 5G RF and protocol test platform and a majority of associated GCF mandated test cases.

Keysight enables connected mobile device ecosystems to characterize and validate new 5G products across workflow from early prototyping and development to design validation and manufacturing. By using the same test capabilities and test cases specified by China Mobile, device manufacturers can easily validate device performance, speed development and achieve consistent results.

Kailash Narayanan, vice president and general manager for Wireless Device and Operators at Keysight, also commented: "Our participation in the 5G Device Forerunner Initiative showcases how Keysight is visibly at the heart of 5G technology innovation. Keysight’s industry-leading end-to-end 5G design and test capabilities will enable China Mobile’s 5G mobile ecosystem to address new technical requirements and master the complexities of 5G from L1 to L7."