Cobham delivers industry-first 5G network test solution

Cobham Wireless’ TM500 enables development and validation of 5G network performance, expediting industry roadmap to next generation connectivity standard

STEVENAGE, UK – Cobham Wireless today announced the availability of its new network test solution which can validate 5G network performance. An industry first, the TM500 provides operators and network equipment manufacturers with a scalable system to test network performance as experienced by end users.

The TM500 5G test solution simulates multiple devices connecting to a 5G network, modelling real world conditions. When used in combination with Cobham Wireless’ application emulation and security performance solution, the company is providing a complete, end-to-end 5G test solution to the market.

“Cobham Wireless’ 5G test solution directly addresses the immediate KPIs for 5G, helping the industry accelerate the development and deployment of next generation mobile and broadband services,” commented Ian Langley, SVP and GM at Cobham Wireless. “Developing and validating their 5G networks using the TM500 will give our customers the confidence to deploy the infrastructure needed to support next generation technologies, such as mobile edge computing. This will offer reduced latency and faster processing for new services, expediting the commercial roll-out of IoT applications such as connected cars, smart healthcare devices, and advanced AR and VR.”

Easily incorporated into a user’s existing workflow, the TM500 solution facilitates the transition from legacy to future standards, in line with the industry’s progression to 5G. With flexible deployment options, it allows the user to upgrade or adapt functionality and test parameters, tailoring the solution to specific scenarios and requirements.

The test solution supports key 5G technologies and is compatible with pre-3GPP standards which are currently in development. It can validate new 5G features such as carrier aggregation and beamforming, and is capable of verifying networks operating across multiple radio frequencies in the mmWave and sub-6GHz bands.

“At Mobile World Congress 2017 we demonstrated test downlink and uplink data rates of up to 10GBps” said Dr Stamatis Georgoulis, Product Director, Cobham Wireless. “The industry-first solution is in use today and our team is constantly working to advance our solutions to support the profiles of evolving technologies, providing a future-proof means of testing 5G networks.”

Cobham Wireless’ latest 5G test solution is part of the TM500 family, which is used by almost all the major network equipment manufacturers and operators across the world. It is regarded as the de facto standard for RAN network testing and has delivered first to market solutions for 2G, 3G, 4G and now 5G.