This jump in frequency, bandwidth and complexity for design of the radio access network  will require new test capabilities, says Rohde & Schwarz, which will show its 5G coverage measurement demonstrator at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week.

Based on 5G technical specifications created by industry leaders and published under www.5gtf.org, the demonstrator incorporates a drive test scanner and software to enable over-the-air characterisation of 5G network coverage.

Hanspeter Bobst, vice president of Rohde & Schwarz mobile network testing, writes:

“With operators starting to firm up their applications, timelines and 5G implementations, we are seeing demand to verify the performance of early 5G networks.”

The drive test scanner and software will be used to optimise and troubleshoot mobile networks up to LTE-Advanced.

The 5G field measurement demonstrator solution will be presented at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2017 at the Rohde & Schwarz mobile network testing booth (6B50).