Rohde & Schwarz and NextNav are set to jointly develop the next generation of location determination capabilities for mobile devices. The companies have successfully developed and verified MBS (Metropolitan Beacon System) OTA antenna performance tests which complete a critical step towards the availability of an MBS certification test solution. This MBS technology is expected to become part of the CTIA OTA test plan during 2018.
The Metropolitan Beacon System (MBS) is a wide area location and timing technology, that has been designed to provide services in areas where GPS or other satellite location signals cannot be reliably received. It consumes significantly less power than GPS, and includes high-precision altitude.
NextNav has leveraged R&S's comprehensive Location Based Services (LBS) and over-the-air (OTA) test solutions to provide a test bed for early standardization, performance evaluation and repeatability of MBS tests for consumer mass market devices. R&S's test platforms support NextNav's terrestrial positioning network and technology to ensure accurate location service, with carrier-grade reliability, into buildings and urban areas where satellite-based GPS signals cannot reach.
R&S’s advanced LBS and OTA test systems support the new MBS technology and all other existing relevant wireless technologies including LTE, WLAN, Bluetooth, WCDMA, GSM, CDMA, GPS, GALILEO and more.
