NB-IoT: How to find NB-IoT carriers in the spectrum (part 6)

November 21, 2018 | by Gregor Tomic

NB-IoT carriers are very difficult, if not impossible, to find. The Automatic Channel Detection (ACD) feature in R&S®ROMES4 does the job automatically. But, what makes finding and identifying NB-IoT carriers so difficult in the first place? And, what implementation modes are there, and how do they differ from one another?

Read more

Machine learning in mobile network testing (part 1)

November 7, 2018 | by Miguel Román

Telecom leaders believe that machine learning (ML) will be key to deriving and inferring user behavior and expectations. This blog series demonstrates our ML applications on drive test data by discussing specific use cases and customer benefits. To start, we will discuss artificial intelligence in general.

Read more

Interference hunting in cities: Choose angle of arrival over power

October 24, 2018 | by Jeremy Carpenter

The urban RF environment is very demanding – densely packed with a myriad of cellular and non-cellular transmitters, interfering emitters, and inconveniently located building. This post explains why it pays to focus on the angle of arrival (AOA) method regarding speed, accuracy, and effectiveness when hunting interference in urban areas.

Read more

5G NR network rollout is now – let’s test! (part 4)

September 12, 2018 | by Arnd Sibila

The first 5G standard, specified in the 3GPP Release 15, contains a high degree of flexibility in radio parameters that complicates network measurements. We conducted measurements in pre-commercial 5G trial networks with our commercially available 5G NR network measurement solution and gained early insights into performance, capabilities, and frequency band.

Read more

NB-IoT network insights through MIB/SIB demodulation (part 5)

August 10, 2018 | by Andreas Spachtholz

Our scanner-based solution to measure coverage in NB-IoT networks pioneered NB-IoT field measurements in 2017. Since then, thousands of kilometers have been driven and walked to collect and analyze data from all available operators and cells in an NB-IoT network. This post summarizes our customers’ key requirements and our answers.

Read more

How 4×4 MIMO can boost your mobile network

July 4, 2018 | by Michael Lorenz

Network densification and the introduction of new frequencies are cost-intensive and time-consuming. Could the implementation of higher-order MIMO features into existing radio networks meet the inexorable demand for more data volume? And how does 4x4 MIMO boost data rates and deliver additional capacity gain, thereby improving legacy LTE networks?

Read more

Measuring QoE of mobile data apps for network optimization (part 3)

March 19, 2018 | by Johanna Sochos

In previous posts, we explained how you can assess the QoE of data applications on smartphones by measuring the success rate and duration of a series of actions. Now, learn how mobile app testing supports operators in their endeavors to optimize networks for mobile data applications and other third-party content.

Read more

Measuring QoE of mobile data applications: Behind the scenes (part 2)

March 1, 2018 | by Johanna Sochos

We explained how to measure the QoE of mobile data applications on smartphones using the success rate and duration of a series of actions. But what are the reasons for saturation at higher network speeds? And, what influences the measurement results of mobile applications such as Facebook and Dropbox?

Read more

Measuring QoE of mobile data applications, e.g. Facebook (part 1)

February 22, 2018 | by Johanna Sochos

There is a myriad of smartphone applications available, covering almost any use case one can imagine. Network providers want to ensure that their mobile connection offers everyone a smooth usage experience, especially for the most popular apps such as Facebook. To do this, they need tests targeting mobile data applications.

Read more

NB-IoT: How to test quality of service in NB-IoT networks (part 4)

December 28, 2017 | by Andreas Spachtholz

NB-IoT networks are designed for machine-to-machine communication, which generally requires low data rates. When building NB-IoT networks, it is essential to test the performance of new implementations to ensure the required network quality. Quality of service (QoS) tests are typically performed with NB-IoT modules that are controlled by software.

Read more

Interference hunting: The real meaning of automatic direction finding

November 13, 2017 | by Yunuen Wagner

The need for interference hunting in mobile networks is steadily increasing. And field engineers often ask us which tool we would recommend in order to be successful in the field. With decades of expertise, what we can say for sure is that it depends: the right tool for successful field service operations depends on the source of interference. Sources are manifold, but with the most suitable tool, they are easy to locate.

Read more

SmartBenchmarker’s reliable alarming interface for easier drive tests

September 14, 2017 | by Oliver Jonas

A reliable alarming interface is crucial for drive testing, even more so when your network engineers control a large drive test fleet remotely from the office. Discover SmartBenchmarker’s alarming interface in detail, learn what the alarming system must provide, and how its interface is tailored to each user role.

Read more

Benchmarking & optimization

More information

Field services & interference hunting

More information

Innovations in mobile network testing

More information

Testing from RF to QoE

More information

New e-book provides unparalleled insight into the 5G NR world

What's the status of 5G NR? What are the test and measurement requirements, and how do we approach them? Download our new e-book now and get unparalleled insight into the world of 5G NR.

More information

The world's first 5G NR network measurement solution

Rohde & Schwarz is pioneering 5G New Radio (5G NR) network measurements with the world's first commercially available 5G NR network measurement solution. This solution enables users in the 5G network ecosystem as well as regulators to measure the 5G NR network coverage accurately - one of the biggest challenges in the network planning.

More information

Pioneers in NB-IoT field measurements

We are paving the way to NB-IoT by provding the world's first accurate LTE/NB-IoT coverage measurement solution: via a software upgrade, the R&S ROMES drive test software now also supports NB-IoT coverage measurements with R&S TSMx scanners.

More information