W H I T E PA P E R

Test Considerations for 5G New Radio

With the implementation of 5G over the next decade, both network equipment
manufacturers (NEMs) and device manufactures will face new challenges in testing
their hardware, software, and end-to-end deployments. 5G technology, as currently
envisioned, is quite different from 4G/Long Term Evolution (LTE) and will bring together
some of the most challenging aspects of existing approaches. It will also introduce
new challenges, described further here. As these challenges are overcome, the
technology will usher in a host of potentially game-changing applications, depicted in
blue in Figure 1.

DELAY

Autonomous Augmented Tactile

1ms Driving Reality Internet

Virtual
Reality Services that can be delivered
by legacy networks
Services that could be
10ms Disaster Real-Time Multi-Person enabled by 5G
Alert Gaming Video Call

Fixed
Bi-Directional
Remote Controlling
Automotive Nomadic
100ms eCall Device First Responder
Remote Connectivity
Controlling On-The-Go

Machine-to-machine connectivity
1,000ms Wireless Cloud
Based Office
Monitoring Sensor Personal Video
Networks Cloud Streaming BANDWIDTH
<1 Mbps 1 Mbps 10 Mbps 100 Mbp >1Gbps THROUGHPUT

Figure 1. Potential game-changing applications enabled by coming 5G standards.

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Keysight is leading the way in delivering first-to-market 5G solutions. The hardware and
software solutions pave the path from 4G/LTE test architecture to true next generation
5G test architectures that will help both operators and their equipment suppliers validate
their designs and network configurations to ensure devices and networks perform
as expected.

Use Cases for 5G

Test architecture must evolve and adapt for 5G, effectively handling the three major
use cases identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The 3GPP
is responsible for the technology evolution and works with the better-known GSM
Association (GSMA), which represents the operators. The three use cases are:

1. Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB). This is an evolution of today’s 4G use

case—streaming video, conferencing, and basic broadband connectivity—but
with greater emphasis on uplink capacity. The downlink speeds will increase by
an order of magnitude—10-20 Gbps per cell. 5G is also expected to replace fixed
broadband connections in some cases. In fact, this use case will be the very first 5G
deployment.

2. Massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC). This is an evolution of today’s

Internet of Things (IoT), but with orders of magnitude more endpoints. Solutions here
focus on power efficiency and the ability to support extreme node density.

3. Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC). This is an entirely

new set of applications made possible by low latency, high reliability, and in many
cases, high bandwidth. They include virtual and augmented reality, remote real-time
surgery (tactile internet), and autonomous vehicles. Connections must be secure and
maintained at high speed.

Peak H i g h I m por t a n ce User Experienced

Extreme capacity Data Rate Data Rate
100 (Mbit/s)
Extreme data rates eMBB 20
M e diu m

10
1
Area Traffic Low 3x Spectrum
Capacity 1x Efficiency
10
(Mbit/s/m2)
1

10x 350
100x 500
Network Mobility
Energy Efficiency 10 (Km/s)
105

Ultra-low energy 1 Strong security

Ultra-low complexity 10 6 Ultra-high reliability
Ultra-high density Ultra-low latency
Deep coverage Connection Latency Extreme mobility
mMTC Density (ms) URLLC
(device/km2)

International Mobile Telecommunications system requirements for the year 2020

(IMT-2020) mapped to 5G use cases.

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Luckily, not all of these use cases will appear at once, enabling test architectures to
evolve over the 5G adoption time frame.

3GPP Roadmap
Looking at requirements, as described by the GSMA and adopted by the carriers, a
basic tenet is the technology will support 10-20 Gbps per cell with potentially 1 Gbps
real (or perceived) downstream bandwidth to a user at less than 1 ms latency. This is
an important distinction, since LTE was advertised as having high peak data rates,
but the end user rarely, if ever, experienced them. Even fixed broadband networks
must rise to the challenge of providing these rates and, thus, the required new
architectures. This implies a network that is:

• Capable of supporting much greater data volumes

• Secure
• Fluid and flexible to support potentially trillions of devices (i.e., IoT)
• Adaptable to the application versus the other way around

An effective way to understand these requirements and the required network evolution
is to map them to the phases of the 3GPP’s International Mobile Telecommunication
system requirements for the year 2020 (IMT-2020). There are two phases to this.
Phase I is focused on early availability and an evolution of existing LTE deployments
and is aligned to 3GPP Release 15. Release 15 initially defined a non-stand-alone
mode (NSA), where 5G is anchored by a 4G LTE core network. This was standardized by
3GPP in December 2017. Standalone mode is expected in the final 3GPP Release 15
later in 2018. Phase 2, will be defined by 2019, if not sooner. Some operators are claiming
first commercial deployments of 5G towards the end of 2018 and into early 2019.

Are there test architectures for this technology shift? One way to look at this is
through the use cases instead of the technology itself. For example, model the
top 10 user scenarios, and determine the architecture required. This is important,
since developing these capabilities to validate an (IoT) sensor, an autonomous
vehicle, streaming of a high-definition (HD) movie, or a remote surgery are all very
different. Endpoints appear and disappear at high rates, cell-site complexity grows
with network sharing, and even the radios deployed and the bandwidth required for
the visibility traffic itself will require new ways of thinking.

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Implications of 5G
The GSMA has listed a set of goals for 5G, all of which will not be attainable at once
due to limited technology or commercial limitations. As mentioned above, aggressive
goals of 10 Gbps data rate and 1 ms latency will be a challenge, but this is only the
beginning.

Aspirational goals include a perception of 99.999% availability and 100% coverage,

as well as a 10x reduction in network energy usage and a 10-year battery life for
low-power devices. All this at 1000x the effective bandwidth per unit area or, in
other words, base stations that can support 1000x the capacity of current base Coupled with

stations. This comes at a cost of requiring much higher frequencies that can support PerfectStorm™, XAir2

higher bandwidth channels. These higher frequencies imply much higher density cell helps operators and

deployment (i.e., microcells), which then require a much higher density back haul NEMs prepare for 5G by

infrastructure. The user perception of availability is also impacted by roaming, made supporting many facets

more difficult by the above network requirements. However, looking at the three use of pre-5G support for LTE

cases, roaming may really only be applicable to enhanced mobile broadband where in unlicensed spectrum

users may also fall back to 4G/LTE. (LTE-U)/Licensed Assisted

Access (LAA), Narrow Band
One of the most difficult challenges of 5G deployments will be latency. Both bandwidth IoT (NB-IoT), multiple carrier
and coverage have known engineering solutions, including the deployment of aggregation on downlink
additional hardware or the allocation of additional frequencies. But near instant, and uplink, 4x4 MIMO, 256
fail-safe latency will be challenging for use cases such as virtual reality (VR) and QAM, dual connectivity,
distributed control, require real-time response. Currently, LTE latency may be in the and more.
range of 40 ms or more, a noticeable impact in application performance and user
perception.

For 5G, reducing latency by an order of magnitude implies that some of the servers
and intelligence will need to be within proximity of the cell site, and the driving factor
will be the cost of delivering the service versus the net gain. Some of the work
involving edge data centers and fiber buildouts in support of the distributed cloud by
the cellular providers align to these requirements. There may be different approaches
to the edge and “near edge,” depending on who is building the network and providing
the content.

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A number of other considerations come into play with 5G deployments, issues that
were either not applicable to 4G/LTE or that were on the periphery. For radios, 5G will
extend operation into much higher mmWave frequencies with current investigations up
Keysight’s design and
to 70 GHz as shown in figure 3.
test solutions for NEMs,
Technologies, including beam forming and higher-order multiple input, multiple output operators, and device
manufacturers enable
(MIMO), come into play, and any deployment will need to avoid interference with
characterization of RF
existing technologies, such as Wi-Fi and other wireless communications systems;
performance, validation
like satellite. It is also possible that different services, based on different over-the-air of protocol, and over-the-
requirements, may use different frequencies. air (OTA) tests to ensure
products work through the
The basis of this is defined as the 5G New Radio (5G NR), with first availability part of ecosystem:
Release 15. Adding to test requirements is a newly defined “Non-Standalone” 5G NR
• Test designs with 5G
planned for 2019. Any test hardware will need to support these new frequencies and
compliant waveforms
test for interference.
• Simulate and validate
Massive MIMO and
-10 GHz 10-20 GHz 20-30 GHz 30-40 GHz 40-50 GHz 50-60 GHz 60-70 GHz 70-80 GHz 80-90 GHz beamforming patterns
Frequency ranges proposed by regional groups
• Test for throughput on
Europe
the network
24.5 27.5 31.8 33.4 40.5 43.5 45.5 48.9 66 71 76 81 86

CIS (RCC)
40.5 48.6 50.2
• Validate over-the-air
25.5 27.5 31.8 33.4 39.5 41.5 45.5 47.5 50.4 52.8 66 71 76 81 86 performance.
Arab (ASMG) No specific frequency bands submitted, opinions that above 31 GHz should be targeted.

Africa (ATU)
26.5 27.5 45.5 50.2

7.057 10.5 17.3 23.6 24.25 31.8 33.4 37 43.5 50.4 52.6 55 76 81 86

The Americas (CITEL)

23.15 23.6 31.8 33 47.2 50.2

10 10.45 24.25 27.5 29.5 37 40.5 45.5 47 50.4 52.6 59.3 76

47.2 50.2
Asia-Pacific (APT)
25.25 25.5 31.8 33.4 39 47 50.4 52.6 66 76 81 86

-10 GHz 10-20 GHz 20-30 GHz 30-40 GHz 40-50 GHz 50-60 GHz 60-70 GHz 70-80 GHz 80-90 GHz

Agreed frequency ranges to study

24.25 27.5 31.8 33.4 37 43.5 45.5 50.2 50.4 52.6 66 76 81 86

Figure 3. Frequency ranges being studied for identification at World Radio Communication Conference in 2019.

The massive increase in the number of devices will only be served by a combination of
greater over-the-air bandwidth, antenna designs that efficiently handle this bandwidth and
subscriber density, and addressing space availability with Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6).

More interesting and challenging is the concept of network slicing, described as

“dynamically and automatically expanding and contracting network capacity to
support a given use case, the adaptation and coordination of network segments
to deliver a certain flow to a specific endpoint at a given specific time.”

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In either a single operator or a shared deployment, any test architecture will need
to properly characterize how the network is partitioned, the logical slices, and the
services offered over each with regards to latency, throughput, and availability.
Given the role software and services play in this architecture, we can use the term
“Software-Defined Test” (SD-Test) to reflect this software-centric test architecture.
Here, it must match the 5G architecture itself, an evolved software-defined networking
(SDN)/network function virtualization (NFV) infrastructure enabling “stateless” network
functions that offer total flexibility based on a micro-services architecture.

Enhanced Mobile Broadband

In eMBB, the user experience is based on the perceived data rate, both upstream and
downstream. This implies sufficient capacity, which is also a function of spectrum and
network energy efficiency. Testing must scale to the expected 100x network capacities
and 100x effective data rates; model radio performance in some of the new frequency
bands in sub-6 GHz and mmWave; model small cell access/macro cells; and simulate
the different applications that will include HD video and video conferencing.

eMBB will utilize existing and new technologies to achieve the expected extreme data
throughputs:

1. Spectrum. 5G NR will extend the radio channel into mmWave frequencies and
combine unlicensed spectrum to increase the possible channel bandwidths. With
more channel bandwidth, more data can be sent through the channel.

2. Carrier Aggregation. LTE-A Pro supports aggregating up to 32 carriers to

form larger bandwidth blocks. 5G NR initially specifies aggregation with up to
16 component carriers with an aggregated channel bandwidth up to 1 GHz, and
greater channel bandwidths expected in the future.

3. Multiple Antennas. MIMO in LTE-A Pro and Massive MIMO configurations in 5G

will enable greater throughput through multiple, independent streams of data. As
5G evolves it’s expected to see base stations with 100’s of antennas.

4. Modulation Density. LTE-A Pro and initial 5G NR specify up to 256 quadrature

amplitude modulation (QAM) to increase data throughput by encoding more bits
per symbol. With 5G, this can go up to 1024 QAM and beyond.

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Being first to market, Keysight and Ixia eMBB solutions span the ecosystem to ensure
designers are testing for the use cases specified by operators.

• Keysight’s 5G Waveform Generation and Analysis Testbed is 5G NR-ready and

enables characterization of 5G NR devices and equipment from RF to mmWave
frequencies with precision and modulation bandwidths up to 2 GHz. It includes
multi-format testing with wide bandwidth for testing of carrier aggregation,
modulation quality, and coexistence in a compact form.

• Keysights’s 5G Protocol toolset enables a seamless RF and protocol workflow

approach that enables device manufacturers to efficiently develop and test to
the latest 4G and evolving 5G standards in a single solution.

• Ixia’s IxLoad® LTE XAir2 permits service providers, equipment and chipset makers,
and enterprises developing products and services to test LTE Advanced Pro
(LTE-A Pro) circuits and network equipment and even emulate entire networks in
support of these test scenarios. This testing will provide valuable experience in the
development of 5G test gear.

• Keysight’s SystemVue 5G NR Library allows simulation of massive MIMO

system designs early to fully characterize antenna end-to-end performance
with embedded RF channel models before investing in expensive prototypes.

• With the move to mmWave spectrum, some tests will need over-the-air
(OTA) validation. Keysight’s Propsim channel emulation OTA testing solution
enables verification of a device’s performance in a real-world setting by accurately
simulating the radio channel characteristics without needing to connect to a base
station.

Massive Machine Type Communications

With the advent of mMTC, there will be a greater emphasis on connection density
(up to 1000x that of current deployments), low power utilization (potentially 1% of
current hardware), and deep coverage. High bandwidth and low latency are less of
a consideration, and IPv6 support is a given. To a large extent, this use case is an
extension of today’s 2G/3G IoT networks, and much of the development will take
place in designing optimized, low-cost, low-energy, and extended-life batteries
and sensors.

• Ixia’s XAir2 with high session counts, versus bandwidth per session, offers
operators the first step in supporting different types of IoT tests.

• Keysight’s battery analysis tools enables device optimization for power

management with battery drain analysis test under different network conditions.

• Keysight’s 5G protocol R&D toolset provides network emulation to verify designs

with the many different network scenarios to ensure performance, coexistence,
and collision free operation.

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Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications
This challenging use case enables applications such as VR and autonomous
control. It will depend on not only the “New Radio” described above, but also
a new stateless software-defined architecture that includes distributed content
and applications that reflect a SD-Test approach.

Peak bandwidth requirements may not be that of enhanced mobile broadband,

but this is balanced by high-speed mobility at up to 500 km/h (think of high-
speed rail), low latency to 1 ms, and high reliability with potential packet loss of
only 1 in 100 million. This is a segment that also mandates the strongest security
guarantees. Low latency is partially implemented through a new feature in 5G NR
called flexible numerology. With flexible numerology, slot duration time will scale to
support the many different services expected in 5G. As noted earlier, URLLC will
be defined after eMBB.

Keysight is partnering with industry leaders to understand the requirements of

this use model and to develop test hardware and software solutions that consider
velocity, reliability, and latency. The test architecture must also correctly model
the software-defined network architecture, and by extension, SD-Test. The final
air interface, while it is still to be determined, will include orthogonal frequency-
division multiplexing (OFDM)-based waveforms that can support very large carrier
bandwidths to enable the eMBB test cases. In addition, low latency will also
require several baseband components to be optimized and a very close-to-the-air
interface. Finally, while IoT will start with LTE -A Pro, it will eventually require 5G
to support the massive scale and diverse nature of the devices.

• Keysight’s 5G NR waveform generation and analysis tools enable early

characterization of devices with new complex waveform structures that
include flexible numerologies, bandwidth parts, uplink/downlink control, carrier
aggregation and other 5G NR features that will enable future URLLC use cases.
Designers are able to gain early insights into devices performance before the
standards are complete.

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Conclusion
It is obvious that 5G is not going to have a monolithic, one-size-fits-all deployment,
and any test architecture must reflect this. Based on the use cases, there are
very different requirements with regards to bandwidth, density, latency, radio
characteristics, energy use, and mobility. Given the phased deployment and
target markets, 5G may, in fact, end up as a set of service offerings, sharing
some technologies but differing widely in others.

Keysight products and solutions are well positioned with LTE-A Pro and for the move
to 5G: from LTE-A IoT and running on unlicensed spectrum, to increasing throughput
in 5G from a combination of carrier aggregation, MIMO, and higher-order QAMs. Our
products and solutions address the design and test needs across the ecosystem
and through every layer of the protocol stack so that device designers, NEMs and
operators can innovate, transform and win in 5G.

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For more information on Keysight Technologies’ products, applications or services,
please contact your local Keysight office. The complete list is available at:
www.keysight.com/find/contactus

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This information is subject to change without notice. © Keysight Technologies, 2018, Published in USA, April 23, 2018, 5992-2921EN