Test and Measurement: Anritsu, ETS-Lindgren partner on NTN testing

Anritsu and fellow test equipment company ETS-Lindgren have collaborated on a new Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) testing solution, which combines Anritsu’s MT8821C Radio Communication Analyzer with ETS-Lindgren’s EMQuest antenna measurement software and supports narrowband IoT NTN testing.

The MT8821C has a wide dynamic range, supports cellular technologies and maintains a stable wireless connection in order to prevent disruptions during over-the-air testing, Anritsu said, meaning that it can reduce OTA test times; the analyzer also supports test cases for Skylo’s NTN network.

James Young, director of Wireless Solutions at ETS-Lindgren said that the company was pleased with how quickly the integration with Anritsu’s equipment was accomplished and added that the joint solution means that over-the-air labs “can add NB-NTN technology support with an easy upgrade to instrumentation and software, plus capture the demand generated as mobile network operators pick satellite partners and talk about the possibilities of cellular services from space.”

The two companies said in a release that their collaboration is “not just about technology,” but that it is a “significant step toward the realization of a prosperous network society, especially in remote and underserved areas where delivering terrestrial cell network coverage is challenging.”

Separately, Anritsu also said this week that it is the first to get Global Certification Forum certification for NTN NB-IoT radio frequency conformance tests. Those tests were validated on Anritsu’s New Radio RF Conformance Test System ME7873NR, and leveraged an Altair device from Sony Semiconductor Israel.

Levana Asraf Fouks, senior director of system validation and PM manager of system engineering at Sony Semiconductor Israel, said that working with Anritsu on the early stages of development enables the company to lay the groundwork for a faster certification process for NB-NTN modules and devices, adding: “The validation of NTN NB-IoT RF conformance tests is a major step forward for the industry.”

In other test news:

–Rohde & Schwarz said this week that it supported successful characterization of a sub-Terahertz TX/RX multi-antenna chip (CHARM) in an over-the-air test chamber, operating at up to 140 GHz, in collaboration with Berkeley Wireless Research Center (BWRC).

R&S also gave a preview of a new probe system for precise measurement of fast switching signals, designed to work with its oscilloscope portfolio.

–Keysight Technologies teamed up with SmartViser to offer a joint solution focused on testing the Energy Efficiency Index (EEI) of smartphones and tablets to meet the European Union’s energy labeling mandate for those devices. Keysight said that SmartViser’s test automation software for mobile devices can be used with any configuration of Keysight’s UXM 5G Wireless Test Platform.

In other news for Keysight this week, the company was ranked by Forbes as one of the best companies for diversity, coming in at #8 out of 500 U.S.-based companies.

–Spirent Communications’ AI traffic emulation platform took a top prize at Interop Tokyo 2024; its 800G test appliance and Octobox Wi-Fi 7 test solution also landed top awards at the show in the test and measurement category.

-At next week’s IMS 2024 show in Washington, D.C., mathematical computing software company MathWorks will present demos aimed at showing engineers how to design and analyze candidate waveforms for future 6G systems.