Viavi Solutions has extended its TeraVM’s 5G emulation capabilities to include Standalone 5G New Radio as well as Non-standable 5G NR. While most networks in the planning and deployment phase currently rely on the NSA standard, SA networks are expected to be close behind.
Viavi said that TeraVM, which enables emulation of the 5G Radio Access Network and elements of the core network, enables network equipment manufacturers, and service providers to conduct testing of 5G gNodeB base station and core network functions to speed up development and deployment. Viavi said tis offering is the first mobile network emulator to support new 5G SA specs.
“The industry roadmap to 5G SA network equipment has been accelerated, and manufacturers and service providers alike need end-to-end, standards-compliant testing capabilities now to speed network deployment and 5G service delivery,” said Ian Langley, VPt and GM for Viavi’s wireless business. “VIAVI continues to lead the way, delivering complete solutions for validation, verification and visibility to develop, test, assure and optimize 5G networks with speed and success in both the lab and the field.”
In other test news:
–EXFO launched a new fiber testing solution, which it says is the first optical fiber multimeter, or OFM, which it is touting as a “turning point in the world of fiber testing” due to the levels of automated capabilities and the reduced cost of ownership through lifetime calibration and field-replaceable connectors.
EXFO noted that because of the challenges including complexity of testing methods of procedure (MOPs), the necessity to outsource and the shortage in skilled frontline technicians, deploying networks properly the first time is difficult for both operators and contractors.
“Too often, frontline technicians are equipped with test tools that are a compromise between cost, complexity and functionality,” said Stéphane Chabot, EXFO’s VP for test and measurement. “With our customers’ challenges in mind, we developed a revolutionary new fiber testing solution that’s easy to use—tailor-made for frontline field technicians, no matter their level of expertise. Optical Xplorer will help operators and contractors accelerate ROI, improve first-time-right metrics and increase customer satisfaction by equipping their technicians with a purpose-built tool and leaner methods of procedure.”
–Tektronix launched two new instruments, its 3 series Mixed Domain Oscilloscope (MDO) and 4 series Mixed Signal Oscilloscope (MSO), with user interfaces designed to take advantage of their high-definition, 13.3-inch touch screen displays. The MSO supports more than 20 serial bus protocols and up to six inputs, Tek said, while the MDO has a built-in spectrum analyzer with 1 GHz or 3 GHz versions and up to 16 optional digital channels.
–UL has expanded its Silicon Valley lab’s testing capabilities for electromagnetic compatibility and wireless testing. The wireless test lab in Fremont, California consists of a multi-million-dollar expansion at the existing campus: a 39,000-square-foot building, so that UL’s facilities now cover 178,900 square feet. The expanded lab will allow UL to serve a “more diverse range of products for customers across the automotive, medical, industrial products, lighting, appliance and IoT sectors,” the company said, in addition to its current offerings in consumer tech, IT equipment and mobile and telecom. UL has added a 10-meter semi-anechoic chamber as part of the expansion, and says that it has more than 300 employees at the site, which “specializes in helping manufacturers prepare their product for testing and understanding and meeting the necessary regulatory requirements for EMC and wireless, radio performance, radio frequency (RF) exposure and safety, including 5G. This expanded testing capacity allows UL to offer customers immediate access to technical experts across multiple EMC and wireless disciplines with in-depth industry knowledge, while also leveraging the latest equipment to optimize test processes across an increased scope,” the company added.
The new lab is less than a mile from the current one on Benicia Street. UL said that the combined capabilities of the two labs 16 specific absorption rate (SAR) systems, 10 three-meter chambers, two five-meter chambers and the new 10-meter chamber, as well as “significant expansion” of its EMC, wireless and SAR testing capacity. The current lab focuses on product safety, optical radiation/laser testing, wireless protocol, interoperability and quality testing and a two-story house, called the “Living Lab,” that serves as a test space for manufacturers to ensure interoperability and functionality in a real-world environment.
–National Instruments has expanded its latest vector signal transceiver family with a VST with modular millimeter wave heads for frequency coverage up to 44 GHz. The VST is aimed primarily at the defense and satellite coms space, but NI acknowledges that extending its capabilities in mmWave allows it to leverage technology in the 5G wireless space as well.
“When the first VST was released in 2012, it revolutionized the way high-performance RF test sets were developed, offering the dependability of calibrated RF measurements, the flexibility of user-programmable inline processing and the ability to program in LabVIEW or leverage existing VHDL IP,” said Luke Schreier, vice president and general manager of NI’s aerospace, defense and government business. “By extending that capability to even more radar and SATCOM frequencies, we are helping address the schedule, cost-of-test and quality issues inherent in the development of complex transmit/receive systems. As a company, we also gain significant technology leverage between these applications and the commercial 5G sectors, which enables us to more efficiently support the product.”
–Keysight Technologies this week released the 2020 version of its PathWave Design automation software for radio frequency (RF) and microwave, 5G, and automotive design engineers. The test company also signed a memorandum of understanding to support three Vietnamese universities — the Hanoi University of Science and Technology, the University of Transport and Communications, and Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology — in establishing well-equipped teaching labs as the country focuses on Industry 4.0-related technologies and the internet of things. Keysight also announced a panel of seven judges who will determine the winner of its ongoing IoT Innovation Challenge, which will culminate in a live event at the World Maker Faire in New York on Sept. 21, 2019. Regional judging is currently underway, the company said, and six finalists will be advance to the final competition.
–Promptlink, which specializes in software for management and testing of broadband networks and equipment, introduced a new offering for detecting noise in cable networks. Network Noisehawk uses a patent-pending algorithm to analyze PNM and SNMP polling data, Promptlink said, in order to pinpoint network noise so that it can be addressed more quickly. The app has both a mobile device or PC application and an alarm dashboard for the network operations center. Dr. Foad Towfiq, president and founder of Promptlink Communications, said that Network Noisehawk “[eliminates]the need for searching an entire upstream channel and a large geographical area to find the source of network noise, as cable operators are forced to do today” and can reduce the need for truck rolls as well as impacts to customer experience.
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