Confirming compliance is a critical step in bringing IoT devices to market. To ensure that these devices operate without errors, they must be certified by testing laboratories accredited by certification bodies such as GCF, PTCRB or CTIA. Thanks to the successful verification of the NTN NB-IoT test cases for 3GPP Rel. 17 in Work Item 333 at the CAG Meeting No. 77 using the R&S CMW500, the Global Certification Forum was able to activate this work item, thereby laying the basis for NTN conformance testing NB‑IoT devices.
With this success, Rohde & Schwarz, together with Tier 1 chipset manufacturers such as Qualcomm Technologies, MediaTek and Sony Semiconductor Israel’s Altair and their respective platforms, has made a significant contribution to the realization of IoT use cases based on non-terrestrial networks for various sectors such as smartphones, consumer goods , automotive, agriculture, maritime, logistics and mining. The NTN NB-IoT Protocol Test Cases of Work Item 333 cover NTN-specific signaling aspects for NB-IoT devices as specified in 3GPP Rel.17 TS 36.523-1.
Rohde & Schwarz has equipped its market-leading NB-IoT solution with NTN features in accordance with 3GPP Rel. 17 to provide the ecosystem with the required functionalities for research and development, production and compliance testing. The protocol compliance test cases were developed using the R&S CMW500 Radio Communication Tester, which allows engineers to evaluate their NTN NB-IoT devices under realistic conditions by establishing a comprehensive real-time connection to the simulated satellite network so that the relevant signaling and RF Scenarios can be tested according to the specification of 3GPP Rel. 17. The test solution emulates constellations in geosynchronous (GSO), geostationary orbit (GEO), and low orbit (LEO). It allows engineers to verify NTN aspects such as time and frequency synchronization for long signal delay and Doppler effect, low signal-to-noise ratio (SINR), power saving mechanisms, satellite ephemeris and GNSS acquisition, to name just a few of the key features.
The official GCF platform R&S CMW-IoT is a single-box solution for compliance testing including PCT, RRM and HF. In addition, the universal device also supports network operator acceptance tests.
