Test and Measurement: NI Week showcases massive MIMO, time-sensitive networking

National Instruments held its annual NI Week conference this week, focusing on its support of advanced technologies in wireless and networking.
In particular, NI spotlighted new tools for developing massive multiple-input/multiple-output systems, the underpinnings of 5G systems and time-sensitive networking, as well as its brand new, second-generation vector signal transceiver. NI also announced an early access technology platform for time-sensitive networking that has been developed in coordination with Cisco and Intel, designed for development of new standard technologies for synchronization and communications while using standard Ethernet. The system is already being used by groups such as the Industrial Internet Consortium’s TSM testbed, NI said.
You can check out the NI Week keynote addresses here.
In other test news this week:
–Qualcomm isn’t very happy about the latest version of the Wi-Fi/LTE-U coexistence plan that Wi-Fi Alliance’s industry group has developed. Read the full story.
– The International Symposium on Advanced Radio Technologies held its annual conference this week in Colorado. Catch up on our coverage of spectrum forensics and monitoring and the work going into a Canadian prototype spectrum monitoring system, and keep an eye out for more stories from ISART.
– Signals Research Group, Akku and Spirent Communications have released the latest results from their collaborative testing effort on various aspects of Voice over LTE. They looked at the Enhanced Voice Services codec, both in the lab and in a live network, to see if the codec delivered in terms of its expected high voice quality and high efficiency. SRG noted that “unlike its predecessor, AMR, which was used for initial VoLTE deployments and marketed as ‘HD Voice’, EVS was developed and optimized specifically for LTE. EVS is a feature-rich codec that supports everything from narrow band (NB) to super wide band (SWB) with bit rates starting at 5.9 kps to 128 kps and a multitude of advanced error treatment capabilities.”
Working with test solutions from Spirent and  Accuver Americas and four LG G5 smartphones purchased at retail stores, SRG tested T-Mobile US’ network, which is the only U.S. network to have launched EVS. For comparison, SRG also tested an iPhone 6 that only supported AMR-WB on T-Mobile’s network.
According to a preview of SRG’s full report, EVS does indeed live up to expectations. “At a minimum, EVS delivered voice quality (MOS) that was comparable to AMR-W,” SRG concluded. “However, when the going got tough – with lower RSRP/signal strength and audio tracks involving background crowd noise – the benefits of EVS were more pronounced and in many cases significant. In most tests, even EVS 9.6 held its own versus AMR-WB – again doing relatively better with more challenging conditions. In addition to delivering better voice quality, we found that EVS generally required fewer network resources in the downlink and especially in the uplink to support a voice call with an identical level of voice activity.”
Spirent also this week launched its new CyberFlood solution for complex security and performance testing in application-aware devices and infrastructure. In particular, the offering includes malware testing that is updated with “thousands of new malware each month” for validating malware security capabilities.
–Technavio says that three major trends will impact the use of geographic information systems in the telecom sector until 2020: the use of GIS in broadcasting, often due to content being accessed via mobile device; increased adoption of GIS applications in mobile devices; and emerging uses for satellite imagery. That may bode particularly well for test and measurement companies who are specializing in ensuring accuracy of GPS and other positioning technologies, such as Spirent.
-A test and measurement expert is joining the board of Ethernet Alliance, in a move that “helps the organization address the Ethernet-driven advances occurring in test and measurement,” according to Ethernet Alliance. David J. Rogers, a senior product marketing manager for Teledyne LeCroy with 30 years of experience and involvement with a number of other industry groups, has been appointed to the board of directors.
“There’s a symbiotic relationship between Ethernet and test and measurement, with advancements in one driving changes to the other. Meeting the test and measurement needs of emerging applications enabled by new Ethernet speeds is critical to their adoption and deployment,” said John D’Ambrosia, chairman of Ethernet Alliance and senior principal engineer at Huawei, in a statement on the appointment.