Rohde & Schwarz and Thales team up to simplify field testing of IoT modules

Gemalto, a Thales company, is using test equipment from Rohde & Schwarz, a specialist in test and measurement, to ensure that its Cinterion® IoT modules can operate synchronously in all networks and conditions. This will greatly reduce the testing of IoT (Cat-M and NB-IoT) solutions in real network environments in different countries, thereby accelerating the time to market for IoT solutions.

Rohde & Schwarz and Gemalto, a subsidiary of Thales, are working together to significantly reduce expensive and time-consuming field testing. 3GPP defines the protocol stack functions of IoT, but IoT terminals need to adapt to various network configurations around the world. Therefore, it is particularly important to ensure that these functions of IoT terminals can work properly with different configurations of different operators.

Thanks to the ongoing collaboration between Rohde & Schwarz and Gemalto, IoT solution providers can use virtual field testing solutions to identify and fix issues early in the development of CAT-M1 and NB-IoT modules. Seamless cellular coverage and reliable connectivity can be achieved before further field testing during the integration process. Operator-specific integration and field testing include analysis of unique network configurations in different countries, challenging RF power levels and verification of signaling processes under normal RF conditions.

The solution includes Rohde & Schwarz's Field-to-Lab (F2L) wireless communication test system, the R&S CMWcards intelligent network simulator, and the R&S CMW500/CMW290 wideband wireless communication tester. Rohde & Schwarz has extended the successful F2L solution for LTE technology to support LTE-M and NB-IoT technologies. Users can switch seamlessly between LTE and IoT testing using the same user interface. Simple processes such as importing field test logs, extracting required information from field test logs and generating R&S CMWcards test scripts can help users replicate real network environments with a few clicks of the mouse.

The R&S F2L solution supports 3GPP's IoT functions. The solution runs on the R&S CMW500 and R&S CMW290 wireless testers and is operated through an easy-to-use graphical user interface. Unlike other simulated field test solutions, this solution is the first IoT virtual field test solution that can replicate signaling and RF conditions.

Therefore, this new IoT test solution provides Thales with an increasingly efficient and fast IoT test method. The solution also makes Rohde & Schwarz more powerful in the field of IoT test and measurement. Gemalto and Rohde & Schwarz's cooperation in the F2L field will continue actively to help both parties verify new software versions.