US telecom operator AT&T has tapped NI for testing tools for 5G Millimeter Wave (mmWave) channel characterization.
FCC, 3GPP and other standardization bodies have already earmarked mmWave frequencies for 5G mobile networks.
NI said channel measurements capture how wireless signals are affected. In a statement issued on Wednesday NI said channel measurements can show how signals reflect off of, or are blocked by, objects, such as trees, buildings, cars and even people. Wireless channel characterization will help lay the foundation for the architecture and design of 5G wireless networks.
NI said that this work will likely play a role in AT&T’s 5G deployment, through the creation of accurate models that help map out the details of where AT&T places its network equipment to provide customers with the best possible mobile experience.
“We identified early on that designing and real-time monitoring of mmWave spectrum needs to be much more precise than today’s cellular systems. With the help of NI’s hardware and software platform, AT&T developed a new type of channel sounder, and we’re using it to develop highly-advanced models that will work for our network,” said Marachel Knight, senior vice president of wireless network architecture and design, AT&T.
Nicknamed internally within AT&T as the “Porcupine,” the channel sounder is the first of its kind and is proprietary to AT&T. It provides real-time channel parameter measurement and monitoring capability. The channel sounder, designed by AT&T, utilizes an architecture based on NI’s mmWave Transceiver System.
NI said the channel sounder allows angle-of-arrival (AoA) measurements that would typically take 15 minutes or more to be completed (using pan-tilt units) to be performed within 150 milliseconds and display the results in real-time.
The channel sounder captures channel measurements where all the data is acquired and processed in real-time. Other channel sounding approaches capture raw data and post process to characterize the channel while only giving one-measurement every 15 minutes.
NI said Porcupine can provide about 6,000 measurements in that time. It’s like capturing 15-minutes of action with a video instead of a still photo. A video tells the whole story, while a photo just shows a moment.
“The combination of PXIe and LabVIEW FPGA provided the bandwidth, data and signal processing capability, and flexibility to meet the requirements of mmWave and expedite 5G deployment,” said said James Kimery, director of RF research and SDR marketing at NI.
