Keysight Technologies, Inc. announced that the company maintains support for leading number of 5G new radio (NR) RF and protocol conformance test cases mandated by the Global Certification Forum (GCF).

Keysight's support of GCF mandated conformance test cases, through the company's 5G network emulation platform solutions, enables one hundred and eight vendors to validate 5G devices across twenty different form factors. At the most recent Conformance Agreement Group meeting, organized by GCF from 26 to 29 of January, it was also confirmed that Keysight's 5G device test platforms enabled the certification organization to validate the industry's first 5G RF demodulation test cases.

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"Early access to 5G RF demodulation test cases speeds validation of the baseband chip within a 5G device, enabling the delivery of always-on connected experiences," said Muthu Kumaran, senior director of Keysight's wireless test group. "By supporting a leading number of GCF-validated test cases, 5G device vendors can quickly ramp up market introduction of new 5G products across any 3GPP-specified frequency band, in both non-standalone (NSA) and standalone (SA) mode."

Keysight's 5G network emulation solutions offer the industry's most comprehensive support for 5G RF and protocol test cases validated by either GCF or PTCRB, a certification forum led by representatives from leading U.S. mobile operators. Access to a wide range of 5G NR test cases, on common platforms, accelerates and simplifies device testing across 4G and 5G. By connecting data sets across the workflow, users can effectively streamline their validation processes, leading to shorter time to a market.

RF demodulation testing is critical to performance verification of a 5G device at baseband level. Compliance to the latest GCF-specified RF demodulation test cases ensures any improvements in connectivity, reliability and bandwidth introduced by 3GPP are correctly implemented by the 5G device vendor. The first demodulation test cases in mmWave spectrum, also referred to as frequency range 2 (FR2), support 5G device validation in NSA mode, which uses an evolved packet core as an anchor for mobility management and coverage to support 5G carriers. The first demodulation test cases in FR1 (sub-7 GHz spectrum) enable users to verify that a 5G device accurately reports the desired precoding matrix indicator, resulting in optimized system data throughput.

Keysight has maintained continuous support for a leading number of GCF-validated test cases specific to FR2 since July of 2019. Keysight's 5G device test solutions for FR2, which leverage the company's UXM 5G Wireless Test Platform and 5G over-the-air compact antenna test range chambers, enabled GCF to activate certification of 5G FR2 devices in October 2020. These solutions also enabled PTCRB to validate multicarrier 5G NR test cases in NSA mode for FR2 at the PTCRB validation group meeting in November 2020.