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The third phase of the specification for 5G technology research and development testing has been released.


 

   On January 16, news was released that at the "5G Technology R&D Test Phase III Specification Release Conference" held today, the IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group provided a detailed interpretation of the Phase III specification for 5G technology R&D testing in China.

   The Phase III specification closely follows the 3GPP standards, is based on China's 5G needs, takes global development into account, and is the first to establish a complete specification system, clarifying the main testing objectives, content, and indicator requirements.

   According to reports, the Phase III specification was developed through the joint efforts of domestic and foreign operating companies, system companies, chip companies, terminal companies, and instrument companies, determining the settings for some physical layer parameters, aligning the technical requirements for network, base station, chip/terminal equipment, and becoming an important basis for the R&D and testing of 5G pre-commercial equipment. The Phase III specification has passed expert review, reached a consensus in the industry, and aims to promote the rapid development of technology and industry through testing, support the international standardization of 5G, and lay the foundation for subsequent large-scale testing.

 

 

Non-Standalone (NSA) and Standalone (SA) full testing.

   The introduction of the Phase III testing plan is as follows: in 2018, complete the formulation of 5G NSA and 5G SA architecture specifications and conduct indoor and outdoor testing of the 5G NSA architecture; by Q2 2018, complete the construction of indoor and outdoor environments for 3.5GHz and 4.9GHz; from Q3 2018 to Q4 2018, complete indoor and outdoor testing of the 5G SA architecture; in Q4 2018, start testing of 5G terminals and interoperability. In short, it is indoor first, then outdoor; single device first, then interoperability.

   The frequencies used in the Phase III testing stage are 3.4-3.6GHz, 4.8-5GHz; 24.75-27.5GHz, and 37-42.5GHz, which have been determined by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Xu Fei revealed that the 5G testing working group is currently applying for the 2.1GHz (1965-1980MHz, 2155-2170MHz) band for 10Mbps for China's 5G technology R&D testing.

   Additionally, the testing environment for Phase III aims to build the most complete integrated indoor and outdoor testing environment. In the MTNet laboratory and Huairou outdoor field, more than 100 base stations will be built, including 3.5GHz, 4.9GHz, 26GHz, 39GHz, and 2.1GHz bands, creating the world's most complete integrated indoor and outdoor 5G testing network.

   At the same time, a multi-mode (2G/3G/4G/5G), multi-vendor, multi-scenario testing environment for 5G voice services (VoNR), OTA, etc., will be built as needed to fully meet the testing requirements of the Phase III NSA and SA networking modes. Xu Fei stated that the networking mode for Phase III adopts full testing of non-standalone networking (NSA) and standalone networking (SA).

Key testing of six major contents.

   It is reported that the Phase III focuses on testing six major aspects: core network and 5GC equipment requirements, base station and terminal equipment requirements, wireless network mobility requirements, RF and performance OTA testing, 5G voice solution research and verification, and wireless interface interoperability requirements.

   Core network and 5GC equipment requirements: support the evolution of the EPC core network for NSA, identify user terminals that support NR dual connectivity; when selecting user planes, reference the terminal's NR capabilities; supplement service quality indicators related to NR business; support NR-related data reporting and billing. The 5G core network for SA must be based on a virtualized infrastructure platform, conducting functional and performance testing; testing content includes: service-oriented architecture, core network functions, network slicing, edge computing, etc.

   Base station and terminal equipment requirements: base stations should meet the pre-commercial hardware equipment requirements, support both NSA and SA modes, and support both 3.5GHz and 4.9GHz; clarify key indicator requirements such as carrier bandwidth and frame structure.

   Wireless network mobility requirements have two levels: 1. Mobility requirements for non-standalone networking: mobility management is handled by LTE base stations; support adding and releasing 5G base stations as dual-connected auxiliary base stations, etc. 2. Mobility requirements for standalone networking (SA): within the 5G system, support 5G cell selection and cell reselection; support intra-frequency handover and inter-frequency handover. Between 5G and LTE systems, support reselection between 5G and LTE cells in idle state. Support handover from 5G to LTE.

   In terms of RF and performance OTA testing: for large-scale MIMO performance and OTA testing, a new radiation near-field MIMO OTA performance testing system will be used to achieve precise testing of 5G end-to-end performance. It also supports bidirectional testing, beamforming, covers low-frequency and millimeter-wave bands, and supports arbitrary port configurations.

   In large-scale MIMO RF testing, compare the advantages and disadvantages of far-field, near-field, and compact-field, and select the optimal method suitable for 5G RF index testing; fully support all RF OTA testing defined by 3GPP for sub 6GHz, 26GHz, and 39GHz bands.

   5G voice solution research and verification: before the large-scale commercial use of 5G, actively verify 5G voice solutions. Prioritize and focus on researching voice service solutions for 5G networks. The R15 version of the 3GPP standard only supports interoperability between 5G and LTE, with continued enhancements in the R16 version. VoNR is prioritized, and after leaving the 5G coverage area, ensure PS falls back to the LTE coverage area, using LTE network voice solutions. It is clearly required that 5G end-to-end supports VoNR, meaning that the core network, base stations, and terminals all support VoNR.

   Wireless interface interoperability requirements: achieving multi-vendor interoperability for 5G wireless interfaces is a fundamental sign of the maturity of 5G networks and products. It must ensure that each system device completes interoperability testing with at least two terminal or simulation devices, and subsequently achieve interoperability with all chips and terminals. Each chip and terminal must complete interoperability testing with at least two systems, and subsequently achieve interoperability with all systems.

   The Phase III testing specification system will be developed in sync with the 3GPP standards, targeting the three typical scenarios of 5G, conducting testing and verification for the new technologies and functions introduced in 3GPP R16, supporting the standardization of enhanced 5G technologies, and further improving system performance.