5G moved from FDD to TDD to improve spectrum efficiency. That move resulted in new timing issues to keep networks in sync.

By Xiang Li, Keysight Technologies Follow these three steps to ensure your fixed-wireless access (FWA) designs will be compatible with the Wi-Fi fronthaul and 5G backhaul. Many areas lack the wired infrastructure to bring residential broadband access. Making those connections has become costly and inefficient. Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) has emerged as a compelling alternative…

By Paul Momtahan, Infinera Learn about the components inside a coherent optical engine, what they do, and how they use modulation to send and receive data. Optical communications over metro, long-haul, and submarine networks once used simple direct-detect technology. That’s no longer the case. Demand for higher-speed optical connections has brought on complex modulations and…

By Steve Rumsby, Spirent Communications When is a standard not a standard? This is a technical rather than metaphysical question, though the answer has implications well beyond technology. In the communications business, waiting for a formal technical standard to publish can seem like forever. As a result, industry groups develop their own interim standards to…

By Leigh Chinitz, Spirent Communications Until recently, service providers were unable to predict in-home performance of Wi-Fi devices because they lacked standardized test cases. Now, industry groups have advanced three new standards, each geared toward different Wi-Fi use cases. The Wi-Fi industry has long had standardized conformance testing to confirm that a device meets standards…

Error vector magnitude (EVM) is the most important figure of merit for signal quality in 5G NR. A new method improves measurement accuracy by reducing noise.

For 5G system performance, obtaining and maintaining the right balance of requirements for high power, power-added efficiency, and signal fidelity is critical. CCDF and PAPR measurements provide insights to help power amplifier designers achieve that goal. While all parts of the 5G RF signal chain contribute to overall system performance, the transmitter power amplifier (PA)…

Proper PA development, validation, and characterization are important because a PA often accounts for a significant portion of a transmitting device’s power consumption.

Millimeter-wave signals used in 5G networks provide wide bandwidth and high data rates. Signal losses, both over the air and through interconnects, bring design challenges.

Fixed-wireless access is a special use case of enhanced mobile broadband, one of the three use cases specified for 5G. FWA brings different challenges for deployment than eMBB.