Anritsu collaborates with Sony Semiconductor Israel to pioneer industry-first GCF certification for NTN NB-IoT RF conformance testing

Anritsu Corporation has announced that the first non-terrestrial network (NTN) narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) radio frequency (RF) conformance tests have been validated on its new radio RF conformance test system ME7873NR, leveraging Sony Semiconductor Israel (Sony)’s Altair device. This marks the first time in the industry that the global certification forum (GCF) certification for NB-IoT RF conformance testing has been achieved, a significant milestone validated in the certification agreement group (CAG) #78.

The conformance tests are defined by the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) in TS 36.521-4, corresponding to the core requirements of TS 36.102, and have been submitted by Anritsu to the 3GPP radio access network working group 5 (RAN WG5).

Commenting on the collaboration, Levana Asraf Fouks, senior director, system validation sand project manager, system engineering, Sony Semiconductor Israel, said, “We are pleased to collaborate with Anritsu on this important initiative. Our combined expertise means that our customers benefit from enhanced capabilities to meet their own evolving needs. By partnering with Anritsu from the early stages, we are able to work towards a swift certification process for modules and devices. The validation of NTN NB-IoT RF conformance tests is a major step forward for the industry.”

Meanwhile, Keiji Kameda, general manager, mobile solutions division, Anritsu Corporation, said, “NTN NB-IoT, which is defined by 3GPP release 17, is a standard determining the current use of NB-IoT in the NTN and enables new use cases and monetization opportunities for vertical industry segments. We are proud that our collaboration with Sony enables us to help the industry validate new features so they can quickly reach the market and attain certification in GCF/ PCS Type Certification Review Board (PTCRB) to realise new devices that enable new applications.”

The ME7873NR is an automated system for 3GPP TS 38.521/TS 38.533 5G new radio (NR) RF and radio resource management (RRM) tests. It supports NB-IoT NTNs as specified in 3GPP TS 36.521-3 and TS 36.521-4, in anticipation of future support for 5G NTNs. Customers can upgrade from ME7873LA to ME7873NR by simply adding a control PC. Anritsu’s contribution ensures a smooth transition from NB-IoT NTN to NR NTN.