7 Results
A measurement campaign quantifying the impact of intermodulation in 5G TDD networks
Critical infrastructure: With the deployment of TDD networks, the mobile network community recognizes the critical importance of cell synchronization and the use of uniform TDD patterns across different networks for the proper operation of mobile radio networks. Variety of scenarios: Possible scenarios include cross-border situations, interactions between private campus networks and public mobile networks, and accidental synchronization chain breaks or misconfigurations within the mobile network.Measurement techniques: To quantify the effects of non-synchronized cells and using different TDD pattern in neighboring networks, R&S, in collaboration with TU Dresden and Advancing Individual Networks GmbH (AIN), conducted a measurement campaign using movable networks with full control over all network parameters. This campaign measured the effects on uplink and downlink throughput, mapping these to RSSI/RSRP values received at the interfered site.Customer benefits: The available quantification is valuable for predicting and assessing potential interference scenarios before setting up and operating a new cell site.
11-Sep-2024 | AN-No. 8NT18
Best practices for mobile network testing for business-critical applications
Business-critical infrastructure: Industrial applications require extremely high reliability and availability, as any downtime can result in significant financial losses. Fundamental requirements: Industrial applications often require low latency and even more important a sustainable latency to ensure real-time communication and control. Measurement Techniques: As soon as the radio access network is used, innovative testing methods are needed beforehand to proactively test the network capability and to identify any potential issues. We propose a standard test procedure for the characterization of a network regarding industrial use-cases that covers a representative set of different, common types of network traffic.
13-Aug-2024 | AN-No. 8NT17
5G NR Reduced Capabilities (RedCap) network scanning
Purpose of RedCap: RedCap is designed for use cases requiring reasonable data throughput, cost-efficient devices, reduced power consumption and smaller device footprint to support applications like wireless industrial sensors, video surveillance and smart wearables in which ultralow latency isn’t essential.Technology basics: Understanding the technology basics helps facing configuration complexities and avoiding potential coexistence issues with regular 5G.RedCap field verification: New mobile network technology introductions like 5G RedCap benefit from field measurements during their typical life-cycle phases (engineering, network roll-out, and operation).Measurement Techniques: In early phases of new technologies, passive network measurements using network scanners are reliable and effective in detecting actual network and cell configurations.
23-Apr-2024 | AN-No. 8NT13
This application card examines the best practices for testing video service quality over mobile networks and discusses the different types of video services and recent changes in video streaming.
18-Apr-2024
Best practices for national regulatory authorities
Key points:Importance of field measurements: Traditional network planning tools and models only offer an estimated view of mobile coverage. Field measurements are conducted under real geographical and load conditions, and therefore provide a more accurate picture and can discover interferences more effectively. Coverage investigations: When deploying a mobile network, operators must adhere to regulatory standards and licensing conditions. As a result, regulatory authorities carry out field measurements on a regular or ad hoc basis to validate compliance or investigate customer complaints. This process identifies coverage gaps and areas of poor network quality, enabling regulatory authorities to take actions to enhance service quality for consumers and guide network expansion.Foster competition: If the field measurements of the coverage and performance are performed on a scale representative of a given country, the transparency of these results can promote healthy competition between operators and better service for consumers, which is essential for economic growth and social development.Measurement Techniques: The harmonized methodology for measuring and evaluating data throughput and QoE based on popular services is described in ETSI TR 103 559.
15-Apr-2024 | AN-No. 8NT14
Modern societies worldwide depend on the performance, reliability and security of critical infrastructures and networks. There is a plethora of “new verticals” such as manufacturing, warehouse, mining, ports or other critical infrastructure, just to name a few. These “new vertical” use cases all have one common requirement: the mobile network needs to provide a superior performance compared to a commercial mobile network. In such environments 5G brings new capabilities to build fast and secure campus or private networks tuned to higher performance, which can increase productivity and efficiency. To be successful in these business-critical use cases, the wireless networks need to be as reliable as the wired ones. This educational note describes the different test methods to be able to verify the superior network performance and to help finding root causes of potential problems limiting the performance. We distinguish between passive tests and active tests.
11-Aug-2023 | AN-No. 8NT09
With all these new flexibilities introduced with 5G, the radio access has become more complex to understand and analyze. More network interfaces and RAN configuration parameters have to be managed and the RAN and in particular the connection control, mobility and measurement reporting are decisive for the network performance. It will be vital for the system experts and radio engineers to gain knowledge and evolve their methods and tools to facilitate the work to optimize and troubleshoot 5G and 4G RAN performance. Thus, tools are needed that allow for easier understanding of the message flows in the radio protocols. The R&S®ROMES4 KPIs and Smart Events will help doing the work much easier and quicker. They are defined for a key set of LTE, EN-DC and NR RRC connection control and mobility procedures where the performance is crucial to achieve high quality network performance. Trouble shooting problematic cases and optimization of RAN protocols are key drivers to improve the mobile network performance with R&S®ROMES4.
28-Jun-2022 | AN-No. 8NT06