Test and Measurement: Rohde & Schwarz validates 64 QAM for LTE-Advanced Pro

Rohde & Schwarz says it has achieved the first validation of RF conformance for LTE-Advanced Pro with 64 quadrature amplitude modulation and carrier aggregation in the uplink, claimed to enable maximum uplink data speeds of 150 megabits per second. The validation came out of the most recent Global Certification Forum meeting.
Carrier aggregation in the uplink takes the maximum uplink rate for an LTE user from 50 Mbps to 100 Mbps with traditional 16 QAM, while LTE-Advanced Pro 64 QAM supports an additional 50% increase in uplink data speed – so the uplink could, at least in theory, be as fast as 150 Mbps. Most LTE features so far have focused on downlink speeds, which don’t address upload speeds for applications such as social networking and cloud services.
Telecom operators are already testing LTE-Advanced Pro features. Swisscom, for one, recently conducted testing with Ericsson and was able to reach a peak connection speed of one gigabit per second. Swisscom plans to roll out the technology early next year.
In other test news:
-Did you call your mom on Mother’s Day? P3 Communications analyzed call data from around 3,000 domestic smartphone users on Mother’s Day and found users made, on average, one extra phone call that day compared to a typical Sunday. According to P3’s analysis, five Southern states (Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama) saw the largest increase in the number of calls.
Users didn’t just give mom a call, either – they used shopping apps, including Amazon.com and eBay, more heavily in the week before Mother’s Day compared to regular usage. Purchases peaked on Thursday, which was the last day for on-time delivery for Mother’s Day; hopefully those last-minute gifts made it. See the full infographic from P3 here.
–Accedian Networks and SK Telecom partnered on a global network management initiative. The deal calls for SK to use Accedian’s solutions in its network management and consulting services as it offers its operational expertise to other carriers seeking to improve quality of experience and optimize their radio access, backhaul and core networks. SK Telecom has made Accedian’ instrumentation part of its network that leverages software-defined networking and big data analytics with a focus on QoE.
–Keysight Technologies expanded its “5G” technology research relationship with China Mobile to include channel measurement and modeling, and massive multiple-input/multiple-output over-the-air testing. Keysight called the work a “continuation and strengthening” of the 5G collaboration that began in 2014, with China Mobile’s research institute.
Keysight also introduced support for the enhanced voice services codec testing for voice over LTE/IP multimedia subsystem environments, so that implementations of the new 3GPP EVA codec can be tested. Keysight also launched new software for USB 3.1 Type C transmitter testing.
–V3D launched a real-time, clientless solution focused on TCP/IP quality of service assessment. MScore, which V3D said is already in use by an unnamed “leading mobile operator in Europe,” can be used by any mobile phone, browser, set-top box and even “Internet of Things” equipment, according to the company, to assess QoS capabilities of a wireless or fixed line broadband connection.
-Progress in deployment of cloud services and big data solutions is driving the market for network recording systems as part of network security, monitoring and visibility, according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan. Regulatory requirements on data storage is also a contributing factor, although capital expenditure limitations are likely to impede adoption by tier-two and tier-three companies. Frost expects the market to reach more than $3 billion by 2022, up from around $660 million in 2015.
“Collecting and analyzing the right data and sharing the results across different locations are critical for companies,” said Sujan Sami, measurement and instrumentation industry manager at Frost & Sullivan, in a statement. “This growing focus on centralized monitoring will fuel uptake of sophisticated network recording systems.”
–Teledyne LeCroy launched dual-port test fixtures for data storage system testing.
–National Instruments is celebrating its 40th anniversary by sponsoring a free day at the Austin, Texas, children’s science museum, the Thinkery, this Saturday. The city of Austin also declared Saturday as “NI Day.”
–GL Communications has expanded its video quality testing capabilities. The company provides end-to-end video conference testing between various types of devices, including Android smartphones and bulk video call simulation testing. The new RTP video traffic generation solution has been added to GL’s MAPS SIP emulator to support load testing and performance testing of hundreds of concurrent video calls.
-Safety and certification company Dekra has been investing in its position in IoT and plans to expand its testing centers and laboratory networks. The company reported this week revenues grew more than 8% year-over-year to around $3.1 billion and that it has increased its workforce by more than 1,600 people in the past year – and is looking for more as it focuses on industrial testing for “Industry 4.0,” driven by advances in automation and IoT.
“Due to in-house expertise and strategic acquisitions, we are one of the top five players in the world in the growing inspection area of connectivity,” said Stefan Kölbl, Dekra CEO, in a statement. Roland Gerdon, a member of Dekra’s management board responsible for human resources and finance, added “digital expertise is a key competence. This is why we are investing in the ongoing qualification of the workforce and are looking for further specialists relating to the ‘Internet of Things.'”