The Propsim FS8 is targeted for testing in a reverberation chamber because of its ability to provide full control of critical parameters Image courtesy of Anite

Collaborative Effort Eyes MIMO OTA Testing Solutions

March 30, 2015

Anite and China Telecommunication Technology Labs (CTTL)-Terminals have entered an agreement to develop the MIMO OTA systems that will help enable efficient benchmarking of MIMO-capable products.

Iliza Sokol

When surveying the future mobile landscape, multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) over-the-air (OTA) testing methodologies and solutions are expected to play major roles. With that in mind, a collaboration between Anite and China Telecommunication Technology Labs (CTTL)-Terminals aims to develop MIMO OTA systems that will help foster efficient benchmarking of MIMO-capable products.

MIMO Testing: The Good and the Bad

Small Cells Challenge Measurement Capabilities

LTE Device Testing: from Theory to Measurement

The joint effort will leverage Anite’s Propsim channel emulators, which comply with CTIA, CCSA, 3GPP, and major mobile operator acceptance test plans. Development goals include MIMO OTA methodologies for carrier-aggregation MIMO OTA, 3D MIMO OTA testing, virtual-drive MIMO OTA testing, MIMO OTA with multi-cell handover and interference, and device-to-device testing.

Propsim RF fading emulators serve to enable realistic propagation simulation. They emulate radio-channel characteristics, including path loss, multi-path fading, delay spread, Doppler spread, polarization, correlation, and the spatial parameters necessary for MIMO testing.

The Propsim F32’s high RF I/O capacity suits it for OTA testing in an anechoic chamber. It can support eight or 16 dual polarized antennas to create a multi-probe environment. The Propsim FS8, on the other hand, is targeted for testing in a reverberation chamber because of its ability to provide full control of critical parameters like dynamic mobile speed, multipath profile, range delay, and base-station antenna correlation. The devices reportedly offer more than twice the emulation capacity versus other similar products.

About the Author

Iliza Sokol | Associate Digital Editor

Iliza joined the Penton Media group in 2013 after graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a BS in Advertising and Marketing Communications. Prior to joining the staff, she worked at NYLON Magazine and a ghostwriting firm based in New York.