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 been providing commercial services globally – and chipset testing will support further services as they roll out in 2018.
Huawei has selected Rohde & Schwarz to provide comprehensive testing solutions for NB-IoT terminal chipsets designed by HiSilicon, a Huawei company. Test solutions will extend from R&D to certification and final device production.
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.
