Rohde & Schwarz has developed two additions for its R&S TS8980 family: the R&S TS8980S-4A and the R&S TS8980FTA-3A.

Rohde & Schwarz introduced two 5G RF and radio resource management (RRM) conformance test systems. The R&S TS8980S-4A is a cost-efficient single-box tester specifically for 3GPP in-band test cases. For in-band and out-of-band test situations, you can opt for the R&S TS8980FTA-3A, a single-rack system. Rohde & Schwarz claims that its systems are unique in that no other test system on the market offers similar capabilities in such a compact footprint.

The R&S TS8980S-4A, which is based on an enhanced version of the R&S CMX500, provides 3GPP conformance tests for RRM and RF inband in a single box. (Image: Rohde & Schwarz)

The R&S TS8980 is an official 5G conformance test platform approved by the Global Certification Forum (GCF) and the PCS Type Certification Review Board (PTCRB). Using this system, chipset, modem, and end device manufacturers as well as test labs can perform RF and RRM tests that conform to 3GPP specifications. The platform also meets the test requirements of network operators and regulatory bodies.

The single-box R&S TS8980S-4A test system lets you perform fully automated conformance tests for validated conformance test cases up to 8 GHz with four-carrier aggregation (4 CA). Based on an enhanced R&S CMX500 one-box 5G signaling tester, the TS8980S-4A test system supports 3GPP RX/TX in-band conformance test cases, demodulation, and radio resource management (RRM) test cases. You can upgrade your R&S CMX500 to a TS8980S-4A. This test system can help 5G device manufacturers who want to perform in-band testing in-house while outsourcing out-of-band testing to a test house. Test automation is based on the R&S Contest software platform with an intuitive GUI, advanced tools for fast debugging, and a sophisticated report manager for big data analysis and cloud services.

Rohde & Schwarz claim that the single-rack TS8980FTA-3A is the most compact conformance test solution available today. It supports the full range of in-band and out-of-band test cases. Furthermore, it supports the complete device-certification process for RF and RRM, covering 5G NR. According to the company, these capabilities have typically required require a two-rack test system.
Rohde & Schwarz will exhibit its conformance test systems at Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona in hall 5, booth 5A80.