What is your view on the 3GPP standardization body moving toward finalizing the first 5G specifications?

5G proposes faster data rates, lower latency, and increased capacity while addressing new use cases. Unlike prior wireless evolutions, 5G proposes radically different architectures to meet these objectives. As we draw closer to the December 2017 deadline for 3GPP Standardization body to finalize the first 5G specifications, one of the most critical steps is to measure the wireless channel at possible deployment frequencies. These ‘channel sounding’ measurements are made to understand how wireless channels behave in a target environment. For example, channel measurements can not only show how signals propagate over free space, but also how the signals reflect-off of or are blocked by objects such as trees, buildings, cars and even people. Once the data has been captured, researchers create models used for simulations. The simulations estimate network performance in various scenarios and by varying system parameters researchers gain a better understanding of the challenges and are better able to explore design tradeoffs. National Instruments is collaborating with leading researchers and telecom giants to make measurements more accurate and reliable while ensuring that the prototyping and testing systems have the capability to process large amounts of data in-real-time with a focus on reducing time to market and accelerating 5G adoption.