5GNR Base Station Measurements in the Field

Many new 5G networks comply with the “Non-standalone” network architecture where the network is supported by the existing LTE infrastructure. As a result, when deploying a new 5G network, it is often necessary to also validate the performance and coverage of the existing LTE base stations.

Many 5G base stations, often referred to as gNB, have a very different physical construction from an LTE base station. New antenna technologies to facilitate beam steering have been developed using active antenna systems with multiple active elements. These antennas integrate RF amplifiers and phase shifters behind each element. The result is that many 5G base stations do not provide an RF test port to facilitate traditional base station measurements. This has led away from direct measurements at a test port towards over-the-air (OTA) measurements that are performed many meters in front of the antenna showing a change in the installation test philosophy. This paper will cover all the RF measurements commonly required by regulators and network operators installing and maintaining 5G base stations.

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