Rohde & Schwarz has equipped Huawei and its subsidiary HiSilicon with complete test solutions for narrowband IoT. Since 2016, when NB-IoT was standardized by 3GPP, several leading network operators have started providing commercial services.
This development is the result of a long collaboration between Huawei, who plays a key role in the NB-IoT eco system, and Rohde & Schwarz, one of only a few suppliers of 3GPP NB-IoT T&M equipment officially listed by the Global Certification Forum (GCF). From early on, joint testing by Huawei and Rohde & Schwarz demonstrated that the Huawei wireless network met the requirements defined in 3GPP specifications. It also proved that the test instruments are fully capable of supporting large-scale commercial deployment of NB-IoT networks, further increasing the maturity of the NB-IoT industry chain.
Rohde & Schwarz test equipment for NB-IoT testing includes the R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester, which provides signaling test solutions for 3GPP standards. In the GCF, the R&S CMW500 is the officially listed test platform. It offers a single-instrument solution for protocol and RF/RRM conformance tests. Users can transfer data and test setups and benefit from this universal one-box platform for protocol tests, RF/RRM testing, callbox functionality and RF tests for production.
The R&S CMW290, a dedicated IoT callbox, adds NB-IoT RF testing capability, allowing complex functional, mobility and IP throughput tests. Low power consumption is a key feature of NB-IoT devices. The R&S RT-ZVC multichannel power probes together with the turnkey R&S CMWrun software cover all testing needs for R&D and compliance. HiSilicon also chose the R&S CMW100 communications manufacturing test set for RF calibration and verification.
As one of only a few suppliers of T&M equipment for NB IoT, R&S can offer Huawei a solution for NB-IoT testing that covers seamlessly all phases from product development to production. In addition to base station testing, HiSilicon already uses several test solutions for chip testing and now the different R&S CMW testers to validate NB-IoT terminal chipsets. The R&S ROMES drive test solution and field testers also support the new NB-IoT HiSilicon chips. Now, Huawei can even offer maintenance and installation services for the new NB-IoT devices.
Click here to learn more about M2M and IoT T&M solutions from Rohde & Schwarz.
