5G and Beyond - National Instruments

RSS

Engineers must be able to utilize test hardware, test sets and 5G waveform generation that can be used in tandem with high-bandwidth IQ waveforms. Additionally, RF transceivers must also undergo extensive testing. Find out how in this posting.

Every year at the end February, we make our annual pilgrimage to Barcelona, Spain for the world’s largest wireless conference, the Mobile World Congress.  The shear scale of the conference can be overwhelming with all wireless companies demonstrating the latest technologies, outlining future directions, and of course showcasing the latest wireless products.  I just returned from Barcelona and MWC 2019, and here are some thoughts.

To date, mmWave deployments have been targeted to fixed wireless access, or in other words fiber to the home (FTTP) replacements.  The early 5G sub 6 GHz rollouts are a milestone but mmWave is the pathway to the transformational impact needed for the 5G ecosystem.  

Testing 5G components and devices with over-the-air (OTA) methods instead of the cabled methods currently in use will be necessary to validate the performance of 5G technology. As engineering leaders, we need new test methods to ensure the viable commercialization of 5G products and solutions across many industries and applications.

The use cases and goals of the 5G initiative are well-known. What might not be as well-known is the role and potential use of satellites in the 5G ecosystem. Afterall, there has not been significant discussion on how satellites fit in. For Release 16, the 3GPP initiated a study item focused on the role of satellites in the 5G ecosystem.

I had the opportunity to speak at the IEEE sponsored 5G World Forum last week in Santa Clara.  My talk focused on areas of research not necessarily related to the current 5G specification or 3GPP Release 15. The purpose of my presentation was not to rehash 5G, but to instead highlight areas that will help 5G reach its potential.

The National Science Foundation (NSF), along with an industry consortium of 28 networking companies and associations that includes NI, announced the first two Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR) initiative awards. The two platforms will be led by teams from the University of Utah, Rice University, NYU, and Rutgers University.

Now that there’s an initial draft of the 5G spec (aka 3GPP Release 15), the world’s wireless leaders have achieved a big milestone. However, widespread 5G deployment still faces many challenges. One such challenge is that of global spectrum coverage or more specifically harmonized global spectrum coverage.