Rohde & Schwarz validates 10 Gbps end-to-end (E2E) peak downlink IP data throughput

Rohde & Schwarz achieved the milestone results based on a 3GPP Release 16 5G New Radio Dual Connectivity (NR-DC) network simulation, provided by its R&S CMX500 5G radio communication tester. In the simulation, two cell groups were simultaneously connected, one using spectrum in frequency range 1 (FR1) and the other in frequency range 2 (FR2; mmWave). The FR1 carrier spans over full 100 MHz bandwidth using an antenna configuration of MIMO 4×4 and 256QAM modulation. Eight additional component carriers are combined in FR2, using MIMO 2×2 and 256QAM modulation.

The demonstration covered several test cases that verified high data throughput in downlink over IP layer, using different configuration modes of the 5G protocol stack’s lower layers such as Radio Link Control (RLC) in Unacknowledged Mode (UM) and Acknowledged Mode (AM). These configuration modes made it possible to push real IP data over the wireless communication link, making this the first time ever that real IP end-2-end data was used in a performance of this kind. Previously, throughput had simply been verified on the modem’s lower layer 5G protocol stack. This opens up a new era of 5G data performance, which eventually will enable eMBB use cases like 4K and 8K video streaming or augmented reality applications.

Christoph Pointner, Senior Vice President Mobile Radio Testers at Rohde & Schwarz, said: “Qualcomm Technologies’ leadership position in advanced modem architecture helped us to validate the capabilities of our hardware. By testing the R&S CMX500 against real modem implementation, we accomplished a new milestone in IP data throughput. 10 Gbps pave the way for much discussed 5G features, which end users are already waiting for.”

For further information on wireless communications testing solutions from Rohde & Schwarz, visit: www.rohde-schwarz.com/wireless.