Forbes Column

June 16, 2020
5G Complexity Makes Testing Critical

By Bob O'Donnell

One of the things you discover fairly quickly when you start digging into the technologies that power 5G is that they are enormously complicated. From the intricacies of RF (radio frequency) spectrum to the multiple elements and architectural complexities of network infrastructure, modern telecommunications networks like 5G and the devices which connect to them are engineering marvels.

It should come as no surprise, therefore, that designing and building elements that are part of these networks is a difficult task. This is particularly true with 5G because it has widened the scope of frequencies, protocols, signal modulation technologies and even network transport components that go into a 5G network.

A very commonly overlooked part of the whole process of bringing these products to market has to do with testing to ensure that the various components interoperate, signals can be properly transmitted and received, and everything just works. A number of different companies compete in the 5G test equipment market, including Keysight Technologies, Rohde and Schwarz, Spirent Communications and the newly renamed and rebranded NI (formerly National Instruments).

Like many in the test and measurement market, NI features software and hardware products that target multiple other industries as well, including automotive, aerospace, heavy machinery and more. Recently, the company purchased OptimalPlus, an Israel-based data analytics company that provides software tools for the semiconductor, automotive and electronics industries. The pairing gives the new NI an even more rounded set of software platforms designed to help tackle enterprise-level problems across many key industries.

NI’s new Engineer Ambitiously tag line seems particularly well suited to the many challenges in making 5G phones, 5G network infrastructure equipment and many of the key components that go into them—modems, RF front ends, antennas, etc.—function properly. This is especially true in situations where device makers or network carriers are using equipment from multiple different vendors. The RF components can be very challenging to work with and test because of the fact they operate in the analog domain. With 5G, you face the additional challenge of having to test signals that vary from 600 MHz all the way up to nearly 60 GHz

Another rising challenge in the RF testing world is that companies like Qualcomm are working to integrate more of the components of the RF Front End (RFFE) into their standalone modems and integrated system on chip (SOC) designs, such as their popular Snapdragon series. RF Front Ends, which consists of multiple elements such as power amplifiers, envelope trackers, filters, etc., take the analog signal straight from a device’s antenna, convert it into a simpler form, and send it along to an analog-to-digital convertor that’s built into what’s called the baseband portion of a modem. In the past, the many elements that go into RFFEs were all separate components.

However, as part of the general integration trend that happens with most types of semiconductors, some companies are starting to incorporate at least portions of the RFFEs into their modems. However, because of the funky, nearly black magic-like nature of RF signals, different elements of the RFFE are often made using different semiconductor fabrication technologies to ensure the best power and performance characteristics. In most cases, that means they can’t be combined together on a single chip, which in turn means you can’t incorporate all the elements of an RFFE onto a single chip. Instead, you end up having to use a smaller number but still several components (often from different vendors) in order to create a complete modem solution. Needless to say, there’s a good amount of testing that goes into making all of these elements work together.

The testing has to go beyond just the design stage as well. Finished products that come off mass production lines also have to be tested to ensure that they function properly. That’s where the software-controlled automated test tools that NI has developed become extremely important.

Testing goes beyond devices such as smartphones as well. One of the biggest developments in 5G network infrastructure is the growing interest and usage of what’s called Open RAN (Radio Access Network) or O-RAN. As it is, 5G networks made a major break with previous telecom network architectures by breaking up some of the core network transport elements into different pieces—notably what are called the CU (Central Unit) and the DU (Distributed Unit). This was done to provide more flexible and scalable hardware choices for these elements and to help enable applications such as reduced latency, network slicing, and network function virtualization (NFV) that are considered critical new additions to 5G vs. 4G and other previous wireless networks.

O-RAN takes these concepts a step further by creating standardized interfaces for connecting between these components and allowing the creation of completely software-defined networks using essentially any type of computing hardware. In many ways, it’s analogous to the move to generic white box servers and cloud-based software platforms in the enterprise computing world. Just as the enterprise computing world moved away from proprietary solutions from a few specific vendors, so has the move to these open standards opened up possibilities for new types of vendors to enter into 5G networks (see “Microsoft Purchase Of Affirmed Networks Highlights 5G Focus Shifting To Infrastructure” for an example of this phenomenon). With this increased flexibility, however, comes an increasing need for interoperability and compliance testing across these various elements. Whereas, in the past, telco carriers could ensure compatibility by simply buying all their critical elements from a limited set of proprietary network infrastructure vendors, with this new more flexible range of options the need for testing grows exponentially.

As end users, we’re never typically exposed to the kinds of challenges for which 5G test equipment companies like NI have to build products and services. Instead, they’re focused on the product designers, engineers and other test professional at chip companies, device makers, network equipment providers and telcos that work to ensure that our experiences function as expected. It may not be as glamorous, well-known or well-understood as the tasks these other companies perform, but it is just as critical in ensuring that 5G continues to live up to its potential.

Disclosure: TECHnalysis Research is a tech industry market research and consulting firm and, like all companies in that field, works with many technology vendors as clients, some of whom may be listed in this article.

Forbes columnist Bob O'Donnell is the president and chief analyst of TECHnalysis Research, a market research and consulting firm that provides strategic consulting and market research services to the technology industry and professional financial community.