First LTE-U device tested by CETECOM

On February 23, 2017, the FCC announced that it has authorized the first LTE-U (unlicensed) devices in the 5GHz band.

CETECOM, as the leading test and certification lab, is the first test lab able to provide certification testing for this currently unique device and is the first lab to execute the LTE-U certification testing for a device that has already been authorized by the FCC.

The 5 GHz band is widely used by Wi-Fi devices following the 802.11 specification. To gain access to this band, LTE-U devices must demonstrate that they can coexist with other 802.11 devices. In this environment, LTE-U and Wi-Fi work together intelligently and share unused spectrum to provide maximum performance and network efficiency. This coexistence requires minimal resources to be used to prevent overlapping simultaneous transmissions as this would result in interference and would degrade the connection.

As interference in any unlicensed band can only be mitigated, not avoided, the testing requires sophisticated statistical methods to ensure the user experience is not degraded by LTE entering the band. This testing certifies that LTE-U devices can coexist with Wi-Fi devices per industry requirements.

CETECOM worked closely with octoScope to form an extensive and sophisticated test platform that accurately emulates interfering LTE-U and Wi-Fi cells. The octoBox MIMO-OTA (multiple input multiple output – over the air) testbed can vary the overlap between interfering cells and allows monitoring of performance vs. in-range interference.

“Establishing this service is another great achievement for our laboratories and strengthens our service portfolio for testing and certification of wireless devices,” states CETECOM CEO Wilfried Klassmann. “We enable market access for our clients; in this case related to a complete new set of devices.”

For further information on LTE, cellular testing and WLAN, please get in touch with us directly: https://cetecomadvanced.com/en/contact/