Viavi Solutions Inc. has introduced what it claims is the industry’s first reduced capability (RedCap) device emulation designed for 5G network testing for the internet of things (IoT) and private networks.
The goal is to create a new class of lower-cost devices like wearables, industrial wireless sensors and video surveillance. The solution is based on Viavi’s TM500 network test platform that is used by most network equipment manufacturers for base station performance testing.
The 5G RedCap specification introduces support for wireless devices with reduced 5G capabilities. These devices are less complex, and consume less power, allowing them to address new IoT use cases. Like other cellular devices, RedCap devices require time-consuming and expensive certification from accredited labs before they can be released to the market. By performing lab validation ahead of time to identify and correct design issues, device and module manufacturers can shorten the certification process for RedCap and other IoT devices.
The RedCap device testing can be integrated into the existing test environment to simulate RedCap-like traffic patterns, generate RedCap-specific signaling and evaluate the network’s performance for RedCap use cases.
The advantages of integrated solutions like the TM500 are the ability to reuse the embedded, pre-device fading channel models. Fading channels emulate real-world wireless propagation conditions such as multipath propagation and signal fading. These are crucial for testing the performance and reliability of a live network environment. The TM500 with fading channel models help to assess the performance of RedCap devices in different conditions.