Keysight Technologies, Inc. announced that the Keysight S8704A Protocol Conformance Toolset was used to submit the first verifications of 3GPP Release 16 (Rel-16) protocol conformance test cases for devices supporting the 5G E-UTRAN New Radio (NR) Dual Connectivity configuration for 5G NR non-standalone (NSA) devices. The EN-DC configuration enables operators to use 4G (E-UTRAN) and 5G (NR) network resources simultaneously.
The test cases, submitted for verification to 3GPP RAN5, allow chipset and device vendors to verify functionality related to the multi-radio dual connectivity and NR carrier aggregation Enhancements defined in Rel-16. Implementing Rel-16 improves 5G network coverage, capacity, security, and latency, as well as 5G device power consumption, mobility, and reliability. The industry milestone verifications ensure protocol compatibility against the Rel-16 standards and accelerate the verification of designs supporting Rel-16 features by device vendors.
Keysight's S8704A Protocol Conformance Toolset enables users to verify the protocol signaling implementation of a design and confirm compliance to 3GPP 5G specifications. This toolset is part of the Keysight's suite of 5G Network Emulation Solutions, which uses the UXM 5G Wireless Test Platform to address the device development workflow from early design through acceptance and manufacturing.
Muthu Kumaran, general manager of Keysight's device validation solutions business, said, "The industry needs this early availability of 3GPP 5G NR test cases for Rel-16 to accelerate the introduction of designs for smart factory, autonomous vehicle and smart city applications. Keysight continues to reinforce technical leadership by being first to submit test cases to 3GPP RAN5, a working group within 3GPP that is focused on the specification of conformance testing at the radio interface for user equipment."