NI presents a system for testing, experimenting and prototyping the new LTE Unlicensed (LTE-U) and/or License Assisted Access (LAA) wireless access technologies. Today, LTE-U and LAA standards are needed to enhance 4G and facilitate the transition to 5G.
This real-time testbed includes an FPGA-based LTE physical layer in the source code, so that different LTE-U and LAA scenarios can be tested, evaluated and potentially enhanced to estimate performance and increase data rates for systems based on existing LTE and 802.11 infrastructures.
Since the LTE-U and LAA standards use an unlicensed 5.9 GHz ISM band to extend cellular spectrum, LTE-U and LAA-compatible devices must "share" spectrum with 802.11a and 802.11ac WiFi equipment. The 3GPP project's technical specifications group is particularly interested in the LAA standard because, unlike LTE-U, which is subject to each country's local spectrum regulations, LAA is applicable worldwide.
Based on the NI USRP RIO software radio and the LabVIEW Communications System Design suite, the NI test bench is a ready-to-use system consisting of the following components:
- LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite
- LTE application framework for LabVIEW Communications
- Configurable LTE-U and LAA reference software
- Two FPGA-based USRP-2953R software radios.
"Several suggestions have been included in the proposed 3GPP standard to minimize interference with users of unlicensed bands," explains James Kimery, Director of RF and Software Radio Research at NI. "Of course, it is necessary to conduct the prototyping and testing phases with great application to facilitate the adoption of a new standard. NI's LTE-U/LAA testbed will enable researchers to assess the impact of this new standard under specific test conditions."
Learn more: https://www.ni.com/white-paper/53044/en