Rohde & Schwarz and MediaTek have successfully verified new location based services (LBS) features for 5G NR as defined in 3GPP Release 16. These features will not only improve emergency caller location, but also support upcoming LBS-related use cases in challenging indoor and outdoor environments with both, satellite based and terrestrial technologies. Rohde & Schwarz has extended the R&S TS-LBS test solution to support these and other Release 16 network based positioning features. Rohde & Schwarz and MediaTek are further advancing LBS testing with the successful verification of 3GPP Release 16 positioning features on a 5G chipset from MediaTek using the R&S TS-LBS test system.
The two companies verified the NR positioning reference signals (NR-PRS), which are central to network-based positioning features, such as roundtrip time (RTT), time difference of arrival in uplink and downlink (UL-TDOA and DL-TDOA), or angle of arrival and departure (AoA and AoD), and which meet the 5G requirements for indoor and outdoor positioning use cases. With the new option for the R&S TS-LBS supporting these features, mobile device and chipset manufacturers, test houses and network operators are able to carry out chipset and mobile device verification for GCF, PTCRB and network operator certification, using a single test solution. The R&S TS-LBS is a test system for testing GNSS and network-based positioning.
It consists of an R&S CMX500 OBT one-box signaling tester as the network simulator and an R&S SMBV100B GNSS simulator. The R&S CMX500 OBT setup provides full network simulation capabilities including the support of multiple 4G or 5G cells at a time. In addition, it provides LBS assistance data to the DUT while the R&S SMBV100B simulates the GNSS satellites. The R&S TS-LBS test system can be used for R&D related pre-conformance tests and to obtain GCF and PTCRB certification as well as network operator specific certification acceptance and validated tests.
Christoph Pointner, senior vice president Mobile Radio Testers at Rohde & Schwarz, said: “Adding network based positioning features such as DL-TDOA based on NR-PRS to the existing satellite based location signals shows the advanced level of our test solution. We are happy to continue our collaboration with MediaTek to push 5G location based services further for 3GPP Release 16.”
