This article appeared inEvaluationEngineering并已在此处出版。
The most important aspect of our modern cloud-based IoT-oriented society is the infrastructure required to sustain it. For all the wireless wonders that abound today, they rely on a lot of wiring behind the wainscoting. Establishing, managing, and maintaining the wireless infrastructure is vital to the continued functioning of the Internet of Things as we know and expect it to be.
Development and deployment of that infrastructure is multi-tiered and -faceted. The modern RF airways are superhighways in the sky, relying on proper lane and traffic management to prevent complete chaos. Within the 5G infrastructure, small cells are crucial, providing increased coverage and uniform 5G user experiences, as well as maintaining high data rates and low latencies.
解决新兴的5G小型细胞市场，并加速室外大都市和室内企业地点的5G部署，LitePoint, a provider of 5G test solutions, announced it has signed an agreement withQualcomm Technologies为了支持LitePoint的开发小细胞的高通5G RAN平台的5G测试解决方案（FSM 100XX）。
A Comprehensive Solution
LitePoint’s IQgig-5G is a fully integrated, versatile, multiband, millimeter-wave (mmWave) non-signaling test solution and the first of its kind to support all 5G FR2 frequencies within the 23- to 45-GHz frequency range. All signal generation, analysis, processing, and RF front-end switching are self-contained inside a single chassis. The one-box design makes it simple to set up, use, and maintain in order to achieve reliable measurements.
为5G无线电技术启用小细胞波形的生成和分析，提供了直观的图形用户界面（GUI），并允许对小单元产品进行实时RF参数分析。高通公司5G RAN用于小细胞的平台（FSM 100xx）是该行业的第一个5G NR解决方案。10-nm溶液支持Sub-6-GHz和MMWave光谱频段。
This platform is designed to support original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to reuse both software and hardware designs across sub-6-GHz and mmWave products. To take a deeper look at this development and the role of small cells in 5G development, we spoke with Rex Chen, Director of Strategic Business Development at LitePoint.
EE:Radio has been a fundamental part of society since Tesla developed the core technologies and Galvani implemented them. But for a long time, radio was considered more of a public good and a niche asset. Now applications for wireless have become mainstream, and we're adding new applications every day. Where would you say, Rex, where the tipping point came, where wireless became a critical infrastructure commodity?
Rex Chen:我想成为commod的临界点ity was when we transitioned from analog to digital. In particular, I would say it really got started around the 3G era, when you had clear voice communications and an actual device to carry with you to make a call anywhere, any time. I think that started the momentum of wireless and seeing how powerful it is and has become prevalent. It's become a part of society, and part of our everyday usage.
There are businesses that are developed on top of wireless systems that would not otherwise survive today without it. A good example would be something like Uber, right? It's an app, sits on your mobile device, and it entirely relies on the wireless communication to identify where a person is located at any point in time. Being able to communicate and request a service that they need and to get a ride to go somewhere. I think even though it's a crowded space, we're still in the early innings of how this can really transform industries with 5G.
EE:Now there’s a challenge to ensure that we can provide these services. Because it places demands on the equipment, the precision. Right? It's like having a soda fountain, each of the flavors better be in their own pipe.
Rex Chen:It's certainly crowded. I think the idea of where the wireless system used to be, I think you mentioned earlier, kind of a very tight-knit or closed-loop asset, is now kind of moving from that kind of central base concept into the edge or open-loop concept.
EE:Excellent point. What are your observations on that? Now that it is becoming decentralized and digitized and almost like a part of the web?
Rex Chen:我认为会发生各种事情。看看媒体今天如何改变自己。您有YouTube影响者，您的纪录片或电影不是核心主流。我认为您在这些无线网络中看到的也是类似的路径。在您仍然拥有核心网络基础架构的地方，但是由于它的动作和分散，您将拥有这些较小的迷你基站，即我们所说的小单元，这些小区将在高密度的大都市区域中普遍存在。
The emergence of O-RAN also known as open radio access network, is another good example of how a closed loop system is now opening up and allowing white-box vendors to participate in different layers of the network stack and lower the cost for operators to deploy new wireless infrastructure in the market.
我认为这些新技术从核心转向边缘并变得更加透明只是我们将来要去的地方的一些展示。
EE:Because this announcement with Qualcomm directly impacts development of small cells, why don't you put it into context of what you just explained? Considering the importance of small cells within the context of the cloud, and the importance of precision performance to make sure that you stay "within your lanes." So how does this announcement with Qualcomm impact the development of small cells?
Rex Chen:This announcement with Qualcomm directly impacts the OEMs building these small cells, helping accelerate products getting out in the market faster. The reason it's able to do that is because a lot of the test metrics and methodologies are highly dependent on the chipset inside the product. So this license agreement between LitePoint and Qualcomm inherently speeds up OEMs that use Qualcomm small cells (FSM 100xx) to get the end device tested in production faster and it really helps the entire ecosystem moving forward.
EE:让我们谈谈参与部署的设计师。您愿意提供多少手持？您可以为想要最大化和优化这一点的人提供什么样的工程支持？
Rex Chen:I think there are a couple of angles to look at. For some OEMs, they want to be able to have the ability to manage production, not just the actual device, but all the software and tools involved. For others, they are looking for already-existing optimized software solutions that are vetted by industry standards. What we do besides working with the chip makers here is also offer not just the test instrument hardware, but all the software involved and the ability to turn on certain knobs and optimize those test methodologies.
How do you actually optimize, for example, your test time? That requires understanding what is underneath the hood in the system software and what tradeoffs or compromise can be made between quality versus time. That tradeoff has a direct impact on the bottom line of how much it costs to get a product out in the market. The collaboration with Qualcomm has been going on for many years in our cellular technologies and connectivity product, but this is kind of the next step forward.
The area where small-cell plays, it's going to have a more and more important role in the future for these mobile operators to deliver higher data rates, lower latencies, and better performance. We are at the center stage of that enablement, in particular areas where there's high density, metropolitan cities, or enterprise environments, indoor corporate spaces, campuses, and facilities. The ability to get these small-cell base stations in a faster time with better cost structure is really enabling the industry and ecosystem at large for the 5G evolution.
For more information on LitePoint’s 5G testing solutions, visithttps://www.litepoint.com/products/iqgig-5g/.
