SMALL CELLS – an essential

paradigm shift for cellular networks

Mahesh Basavaraju
Market Segment Manager

Nikola Serdar
Product Manager
AGENDA

► Small cells and market

trends
− Densification
− Standardized open
interfaces
− Disaggregated RAN

► Small cells – test cycle

− Challenges and solutions

► Demonstration of
R&S®CMP200
SMALL CELLS - MARKET TRENDS
WHAT IS A Fixed wireless
access
Repeater

SMALL CELL
► Compact base station Macro base Outdoor
small cells
covering smaller coverage station
Mobile
area, serving fewer users
BS
core
with low radio power level
► 3GPP defines the BS
Distributed Indoor
classes RAN MEC small cells
antenna
− Wide Area BS systems (DAS)
− Medium Range (Micro)
− Low Area (Pico cell)
► Small cells role is changing
with every “G”
► Densification is an
important strategy by the
operators to provide
seamless 5G services
Small cells are an essential strategy to realize the full
potential of 5G mmWave (indoor and outdoor environments)
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SMALL CELLS – SPECTRUM WISE STATS

3000 1200
1000
2000 800
000, RU

600

000, RU
1000 400
200
0 0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Utility Manufa Retail Local Transp Health
& cturing Govt. ort care
energy

Sub6 GHz mmWave Sub6 GHz mmWave

Fig (a): Small cells deployment by spectrum (2019-2026) Fig (b): Cumulative small cells deployment by verticals
(2019-2026)
Source: Small Cell Forum

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HOW DOES A TYPICAL SMALL CELL LOOK SO FAR

Radio unit
Baseband unit
Transceiver Analog RF
Embedded Baseband
Midhaul processor processing DAC
PA

ADC 2T2R
L1, L2 processing antennas
LNA
Synchronization

Proprietary interface FAPI interface

for fronthaul

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TYPICAL SPECS OF A SMALL CELL

Specifications Specifications
Power rating <5W, 5W, 10W, >10W Antenna FR1 external,
FR2 integrated
Max. weight 2kg (res), 5-6kg (ent), 8kg (urb)
Spectrum Licensed, shared/unlicensed
Modulation DL: 256QAM, UL: 64QAM
Technology 5G, dual mode LTE/5G
DL / UL MIMO 2, 4, 8 layers
Split options Option 6, Option 7.2x, both
TX/RX ant. ports FR1: 2T2R, 4T4R, 8T8R
Fronthaul
speed 10/25 Gbps
TX/RX ant. ports FR2: 16T16R, 32T32R

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OPEN STANDARDIZED INTERFACES
Functional splits
3GPP studied (TR 38.801) different functional splits between centralized and distributed units

High Low High Low High Low

RRC PDCP RF
RLC RLC MAC MAC PHY PHY

Data
Core

Option1 Option2 Option3 Option4 Option5 Option6 Option7 Option8

Data

High Low High Low High Low

RRC PDCP RF
RLC RLC MAC MAC PHY PHY
CPRI / OBSAI

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DISAGGREGATED RAN
FUNCTION SPLIT OPTION 6
► Independent radio unit design
► nFAPI fronthaul interface to facilitate when the DU & RU comes from different vendors
► Lower requirements on 5G nFAPI in terms of delay and bandwidth

SDAP RRC PDCP RLC MAC PHY RF

S-CU S-DU S-RU

F1 5G nFAPI
Midhaul Fronthaul

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OPTION 7.2X Scrambling
Layer
mapping
RE
mapping Dig. BF D/A Analog
BF

Encoding Modulation Precoding Precoding IFFT

► Split PHY layer architecture

► Stringent timing, bw and sync req. on open FH
► Commoditization of radio units

SDAP RRC PDCP RLC MAC HIGH LOW RF

PHY PHY

O-CU O-DU O-RU

F1 Open FH

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SMALL CELL ARCHITECTURE

RRC PDCP RLC MAC PHY RF

Small cell SCF

FAPI
All in one integrated small cell

S-CU & S-DU SCF S-RU

nFAPI
Two unit small cell

S-CU 3GPP S-DU SCF S-RU

F1 nFAPI
Three unit small cell

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SMALL CELL ARCHITECTURE
STATISTICS 20% = DAS

3000

32%
2000
000, RU

26%
1000

22%
0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

All in one Two units Three units

Small cells by architecture 2019 - 2026 Source: Small Cell Forum

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5G NETWORK
EVOLUTION
Distributed unit with radio

RLC MAC PHY RF

► Virtualized RAN
► Standardized open
interfaces vCU
SDAP

► Flexible n/w architecture PDCP

Near real time
RAN intelligent
to meet end customer Core
RRC
controller
requirements network

− Latency
− Capacity 3GPP NG
vDU Radio unit
− QoS, security, etc.. PHY RF
RLC MAC

3GPP F1 SCF
nFAPI
Source: Qualcomm
We serve the entire small cell ecosystem!
Innovative solutions from R&D through production

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 THE FR2 SMALL CELL DIAGRAM
WITH DETAILS

Memory Transceiver
RefClk
DDR
Control I/Os RF conditioning /
PCIe Down- amplification
(SPI, I2C, ..) ADC converter
Embedded Baseband nFAPI
Ethernet
processor processor
(e.g. ASIC, CPU) (e.g. FPGA, ASIC)

Up-
Coding
Modulation
DAC converter
L2 processing Digital Beamforming
L1 processing Beamforming
CFR
DPD

BB unit Radio unit

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 DIGITAL DESIGN

► Signal integrity
− Increasing integration
densities Oscilloscope (R&S®RTP, R&S®RTO…)
− High speed digital
interfaces ▪ Signal integrity:
▪ Interface test
− EMI @ design stages ▪ PCB and interconnect test
► Power integrity ▪ Clock tree, PLL and ADC/DAC
▪ Power integrity test
− Suitable probes for the ▪ Protocol-level debug test
power rails on the board
► Power supply tests
► Oscillator phase noise has R&S®FSWP phase noise analyzer
an impact on system
performance
Power supply (R&S®NGP800,..) Digital multimeter
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 RF FRONT END Amplifier gain EVM vs. frequency/power

DESIGN AND TEST Filter and antenna test

Output amplitude
EVM
► Power amplifiers, filters,
LNA, mixers etc. Input amplitude

AM-PM perf. with DPD ACP with DPD

► Digital Pre-distortion (DPD)

Phase Deviation
method enhances the
linearity of the PA operating
in its non-linear range
− High BW at FR2
Input amplitude
− Varying DPD models
− Memory based DPD Power efficiency Performance verification R&S®ZNBT

► DPD can result in improved LAN control and data transfer (for DPD)
EIRP by up to 3dB, thus
reducing antenna elements RF
in the mmwave array PA
PIN POUT
18 R&S®SMW200A R&S®FSW
 ANTENNA Antenna characterization

MEASUREMENTS
► OTA tests are required to
verify the 5G mmW highly SMW200A
R&S®ZNA
integrated RFIC and AiP R&S®FSW

Output power vs. frequency vs.

► Multiuse of ATS1000 for temperature
antenna characterization

Output power (dBm)

and modulation perf. tests
like EVM and ACLR when
used together with a VNA
-40oC
or VSG/VSA 25oC Fast, precise 3D
85oC measurements from
–40 °C to +85 °C
Frequency (GHz)
► With mmW, important to
test the components for Manufacturing tolerances of Temperature
thermal effects components & thermal effects bubble
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 R&S®VSE
TX BEAMFORMING
CHARACTERIZATION
5G NR FR1
► Phase coherent
acquisition of the base
station output streams
R&S®NRQ6
► Multichannel R&S®RTP
demodulation and
analysis 8
► Phase difference
measurements on all
available DMRS

R&S®VSE

64

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RF CONFORMANCE TEST
3GPP 38.141-1 / 2 COVERING BOTH 5G FR1 AND FR2

R&S®SMW200A

5G NR 3GPP specification
Base station (BS) radio
38.104
transmission and reception
BS conducted conformance testing
R&S®FSW Limits 38.141 - 1
BS Classes chapter 6, 7 and 8
Medium range BS BS radiated conformance testing
Local area BS
38.141 - 2 chapter 6, 7, 8 (OTA)
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3GPP BS PERFORMANCE TEST SETUP
CLOSED LOOP HARQ TESTS
Measurement setup acc. to 3GPP 38.141 R&S®SMW200A
Small cell
S-RU
RX A

RX B

HARQ feedback (SMW-K145)

R&S®SMW200A dual channel tester with in-built fading and AWGN options, makes
testing simple and easy to setup.
Reducing cost of testing

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 SHIELDING CHAMBERS

R&S®ATS1000 R&S®ATS800R R&S®ATS1800C R&S®CMQ200/CMQ500

Frequency range 18 to 87 GHz 20 to 50 GHz 23.5 to 44 GHz 20 to 77 GHz / 0.7 to 77GHz
QZ size ~5 cm at 30GHz Ø 20 cm Ø 30 cm ~1 to 2 cm

DUT weight 20 kg centered Static centered – 5 kg 15 kg centered 1 to 1.5 kg (depending on

DUT holder)
On positioner 2.5 kg

Shielding effectiveness >50 dB 50 dB >90 dB 60 dB / 80 dB

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PRODUCTION
TESTS Production solution for
5G NR FR1
► Calibration R&S®SMCV100B
− TX, RX Production solution for
► Verification 5G NR FR2
− Subset of 38.141 test R&S®SMM100A
suite (test case selection
part of manufacturers
test strategy)
R&S®FSV3000
► Debug Station
− Repair and debugging
− Measuring voltage and
R&S®FSV3000
current at different test
points
R&S®CMP200 – RADIO COMMUNICATION TESTER
SMALL CELLS, CPE’S AND MOBILES – 5G FR2
CMP200 general features
5G FR2 DL measurements ▪ 1xVSA and 1xARB
▪ NR base station (BS) testing ▪ Analyzer frequency range 28, 39, 47 GHz band
(based on 3GPP TS 38.141-2) ▪ Generator frequency range 28, 39, 47 GHz band
▪ 1 GHz bandwidth, 3x ports

General purpose (GPRF) generator

▪ ARB generator function; replay of predefined
waveforms / chipset specific
▪ CW signals

General purpose(GPRF) TX measurements

▪ IQ vs. slot
▪ FFT spectrum analyzer
▪ IQ recorder
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▪ Power measurements
R&S®CMP200 –
READY FOR 5G MMWAVE SMALL CELLS TESTING
R&S®CMP200 Wireless Manufacturing Test (WMT)
▪ Ultrafast measurement speed Modular software framework tailored for high
▪ Parallel testing of multiple DUTs volume production testing and non-signaling
▪ Supported RF bands (29, 39, 47) R&D applications.
▪ Fully automated path correction Requirement
definition
concept

R&S®CMPHead30
Scope Offer and
fulfilled order

R&S®CMP200
Implementation

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R&S®CMP200 SUPPORT IN QDART announcement
FOR SMALL CELL TESTING
► Summary FSM100x - QC Small cell platform CMP200 status in QDART
− Rohde & Schwarz and Qualcomm are working 5G NR mmWave calibration
July 30, 2021

together to enable support of R&S®CMP200 TX PAvT (Phased array calibration + TX linearizer F

calibration)
into QDART tools. RX phased calibration F
− Supported test coverage includes calibration RX gain F
TX DC offset calibration F
and verification tests for 5G mmWave Full array Tx linearizer calibration F
PDET F

► July 2021 QDART release 5G NR mmWave verification test items*

OTA TX Power (TM11) F
- R&S®CMP200 gets functional (F) approval OTA TX EVM (EMT2 & 3) F
OTA TX OBW (ETM11) F
OTA TX ACPR (ETM11) F
OTA TX OBUE (ETM11) F
OTA TX ON/ OFF Power (EMT11) including transit time F
OTA reference sensitivity level F

*F fully validated in QDART

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 Chamber Conformance Production

R&S®ATS1800C
R&S®SMW200A R&S®FSW
R&S®SMCV100B
R&S®FSV

R&S®CMQ200 R&S®CMP200
Make ideas real

R&S®ZNA R&S®FSW R&S®SMM100A R&S®NGP800 R&S®RTP

RF design and compliance Embedded design & power

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CONCLUSION ► Small cells play an important role in realizing the true
potential of 5G

► Future small cells are adopting the open interface and

facilitating a disaggregation RAN architecture

► Rohde & Schwarz offers a wide portfolio to address the

entire test cycle of a small cell from R&D through
production

► ONE STOP for all your small cell test needs

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