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Keysight Technologies, Inc. and MediaTek have collaborated to verify that MediaTek’s 5G modem technology supports 5G New Radio (NR) and internet of things (IoT) technologies based on the 3rd Generation Partnership Project’s (3GPP) Release 17 (Rel-17) standards for non-terrestrial networks (NTN).

NTNs deliver secure, reliable, and high-bandwidth connectivity to remote areas that do not have terrestrial network coverage using satellites or high-altitude platforms. Ensuring that devices support 5G NR and IoT standards is a critical step to building NTNs to deliver ubiquitous mobile connectivity to businesses and individuals in rural areas. However, chipset and device makers must validate the functionality and performance of NTN devices before they are deployed onto commercial satellite communications networks.

Keysight integrates 5G network and real-world channel emulation hardware and software to create an end-to-end mixed terrestrial and space lab-based test bed to realistically simulate a wide range of orbit trajectories. The solution uses dynamic multipath propagation to emulate ground-to-satellite, satellite-to-ground, and ground-to-ground satellite links. This provides holistic performance verification of terrestrial and non-terrestrial infrastructure as well as 5G NTN devices.

The MediaTek 5G modem technology was verified using:

• S8711A UXM 5G Test Application emulated mobile networks for 5G NR and IoT technologies, allowing the device under test to establish an NTN data call connection.
• S8820A PROPSIM FS16 Channel Emulation Toolset emulated satellite orbits along with the channel effects and impairments of the air interface as radio frequency digital twins.

Ho-Chi Hwang, General Manager of Wireless Communication System and Partnerships at MediaTek, said: “The successful NTN collaboration with Keysight has helped us advance the development of our NTN technology, and positioned MediaTek as a pioneer in the development of commercial satellite communications services.”

Peng Cao, Vice President and General Manager at the Keysight Wireless Test Group, said: “Keysight is excited to have collaborated with MediaTek for these successful verifications, delivering important milestones on the road to commercial NTN service deployments. This early verification accelerates the industry’s move to the certification stage and commercial deployment.”

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