Keysight Technologies gained approval for the industry's first 5G New Radio (NR) Release 16 (Rel-16) power-saving test cases for demodulation and radio resource management (RRM) in the n78 frequency band. The validated test cases, which are for use with Keysight's 5G network emulation conformance test platform (TP168), were obtained at the recent Conformance Agreement Group (CAG) #75 meeting of the Global Certification Forum (GCF).

Optimizing power consumption is a key focus for 5G NR, with targeted improvements including extended battery life for device users. 3GPP Rel-16 addresses this need with new features that help reduce power consumption, such as RRM monitoring relaxations for devices not at a cell edge or with low mobility. Keysight's approved test cases enable certification tests for devices with these features to ensure they successfully pass the conformance criteria.

Keysight also received approval at CAG #75 for the first test tool validation covering radio frequency (RF) performance four-component carrier (4CC) aggregation downlink test cases. Enabling 4CC aggregation will boost wireless throughput rates for faster downloads and better performance.

With the addition of these test cases available through the S8705A RF/RRM DVT and Conformance Toolset, Keysight extends its test case leadership by having the greatest number of new test case/band validations and activating the greatest number of new work items now available for certification testing. Currently, Keysight leads the industry with coverage of 98% of all 5G NR-validated test cases.