CEDAR PARK, Texas – March 11, 2022 – ETS-Lindgren and Keysight Technologies, Inc., announce an industry-first Over-the-Air (OTA) Test Solution for devices supporting narrowband non-terrestrial networks (NB-NTN) technology.

Non-terrestrial networks (NTN), a feature of 3GPP Release 17 (Rel-17), enables cellular communications to be delivered by satellite, providing secure, reliable, and high bandwidth coverage to isolated locations globally. The initial technology provided by NTN is narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT), which supports many new use cases, including asset tracking, remote monitoring, and emergency services. In turn, these use cases allow mobile network operators to provide coverage to a wider geographical area and a larger number of subscribers.

Working together closely, ETS-Lindgren and Keysight developed a joint OTA Test Solution for measuring and validating the transmitter/receiver performance of devices supporting NB-NTN. These tests permit manufacturers to assess real-life performance and ensure consumer expectations and network operator and regulator requirements are met, all while supporting the forthcoming CTIA OTA test requirements for NTN devices.

The fully integrated combined Solution comprises ETS-Lindgren’s OTA Test Chambers and EMQuest Antenna Measurement Software along with Keysight’s UXM E7515B NTN software. ETS-Lindgren’s OTA Test Chambers feature a high-speed, multi-antenna array test system that supports 5GNR SISO non-standalone (NSA) and/or standalone (SA) testing in the FR1 band, while EMQuest allows the transmitter and receiver performance of NTN devices to be assessed, including measurements such as Total Radiated Power (TRP) and Total Isotropic Sensitivity (TIS). The Keysight NTN software runs on the Keysight E7515x family of UXM 5G Wireless Test Platforms and emulates both terrestrial and satellite networks, including satellites in low, mid, or geo-stationary/synchronous orbits to test the effects of Doppler shifts.

Keysight’s portfolio of NTN Test Solutions also supports testing of 5G New Radio and unmodified LTE devices over NTN connections, which are anticipated to be supported by NTN.

Director of Wireless Solutions with ETS-Lindgren James Young said, “NTN and direct-to-device satellite technologies are generating significant interest as designers consider the use cases and applications that could be built around this new link method. The buzz around NTN, and the need to answer questions about device performance and capabilities, pushed ETS-Lindgren to prioritize building this test capability for our OTA system users. The cooperative approach with Keysight UXM 5G Emulation Solution team helped accelerate the development of this important OTA test and allowed quick integration within EMQuest.”

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