Given the need for ever-increasing Wi-Fi data rates and number of connections, IEEE 802.11ax builds on 802.11ac at the physical layer by adding support for both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz as well as denser modulation. That is, 1024 QAM to increase data rates. The so-called “Wi-Fi 6,” IEEE 802.11ax also adds orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) to increase the number of users. Anritsu has added 802.11ax support to its popular MT8862A Wireless Connectivity Test Set.

With the 802.11ax option, Anritsu claims it’s MT8862A is the first WLAN tester to evaluate signal quality at all data rates of major WLAN standards IEEE802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax. It lets you measure parameters such as Tx power (2×2 MIMO) and error vector magnitude (EVM) at the physical layer and packets at higher layers. Use it to generate IQ constellation diagrams for the new 1024 QAM signals in 802.11ax. Other measurements include Center Frequency Leakage, Center Frequency Tolerance, Symbol Clock Frequency Tolerance, IQ Imbalance, and Spectral Flatness. When testing receivers, you can measure packet errors, frame errors, adjacent channel sensitivity, and others. You can operate the instrument in either a wired or wireless mode.