MWC19 was undoubtedly the year of 5G: 5G-enabled handsets were on show, as were 5G modems, 5G broadcasts, use cases – including a demo of live tele-monitored surgery over 5G – plus a whole host of network equipment.

VIAVI too used MWC19 as an opportunity to show off some impressive kit, and to demonstrate to delegates, partners and prospects just how far we’ve come in the space of 12 months. In case you missed it, here’s a wrap-up of VIAVI’s demos:

Lab to field testing

VIAVI is currently delivering 5G products to all the major NEMs and operators, and believe we’re the only partner capable of delivering a complete testing solution, from the lab to the field to backhaul, placing us way ahead of the closest competition.

At MWC19 Barcelona, we demonstrated our expertise in this area with two demos. The first showed how CellAdvisor5G combined with TM500 can be used in the lab environment to speed up trouble-shooting in base station testing and accelerate lab pre-verification checks. It can identify bottlenecks on the network and detect when its underperforming, resulting in better, more consistent throughput to the device.

By combining the power of TM500 and CellAdvisor5G, NEMs and service providers can bring the benefits of live test equipment into the carefully controlled set-up of the lab environment, reducing the costs and complexities of network testing and validation, and – crucially – enabling operators to deliver real 5G use cases to market more quickly.

The second of our lab to field demos focused on how enhanced mobile can will support the delivery of 4K video and – more specifically – how TM500 can support the demand for ultra-high capacity data delivery and data-intensive mobile services. With TM500, VIAVI was the first to offer carrier aggregation on a 4G test mobile, with the solution supporting higher-order carrier aggregation for NSA and delivering an industry-first 2.8 Gbps data throughput. TM500 accurately replicates real-world user behaviour profiles such as downloading and streaming 4K video, allowing operators to overcome challenges in the lab environment, hastening time to market for mobile video services.

5G and beyond

Visitors to VIAVI’s stand were able to see our industry-first 5G Massive MIMO system level lab test solution. This marks a paradigm shift in 5G Massive MIMO system level validation in the lab and enables test cases that were previously not possible.

VIAVI also gave an overview of our key role in the EU’s Horizon 2020 initiative. The EU has dedicated almost €80 billion of funding (2014 to 2020) to Horizon 2020, and at MWC19 we showed visitors how this money has been put to good use.

We’re supporting test and development tools for the Internet of Radio-Light (IoRL) project.  Alongside numerous partners, we’re working to develop a safer, more secure, customizable and intelligent in-building network which delivers increased throughput, whilst minimizing interference. How? Using a light-based communication system which consumes ten times less energy to operate than WiFi, and has already been successfully trialled in France.

Impact of rogue IoT devices attacking a network

Before MWC Barcelona we examined the growing threat posed by IoT end-points and 5G, so while at the show, we demonstrated what we’re doing to help network service providers to tackle this. Our TeraVM solution was used to highlight the impact of rogue IoT application traffic on a 5G mobile core network in a virtualized environment.

TeraVM supports massive scaling: at MWC, visitors to our stand witnessed a test scenario which saw 200,000 LTE subscribers, 200,000 5G subscribers and 200,000 IoT devices attached to a network. After 30 seconds, we unleashed 200,000 (simulated) rogue IoT devices, highlighting the potential damage of a cyber attack. It showed the effect on subscribers’ quality of experience, allowing operators to identify points of weakness on their networks, and implement more stringent security measures, and guarantee robust, low-risk networks for a successful 5G future (and for many satisfied subscribers!).

Driving V2X communications forward

V2X (or ‘vehicle-to-everything’, the communication between connected vehicles and their surrounding environment) connectivity is the core component of the automotive industry of the future. It’ll ensure connected vehicles travel safely and navigate accurately, while reducing fuel consumption and enhancing the on-board experience.

At MWC Barcelona, we showed how our 5G Research Platform is being used to emulate the dynamic field environment of the connected car ecosystem and enabling the development of autonomous vehicles. Along with our partner Telefonica, we showcased an autonomous car use case, with virtual test modelling and visualisation of road, traffic and wireless topology. We believe this is the most advanced URLLC demo in the industry, meeting the demanding requirements of 5G NR Release-15 and 16.

NITRO Mobile and NITRO GEO

On the assurance and visibility side, VIAVI showcased NITRO Mobile, our overall intelligence, assurance, and optimization solution. NITRO Mobile captures, locates, and analyzes all mobile events across the RF, RAN, xHaul and core, providing operators with unprecedented insight to optimize the customer experience and drive new revenue streams.

We also demonstrated NITRO GEO, which captures, locates, stores, and analyzes data from all subscriber events, giving operators a rich source of app-aware insight to significantly improve network performance and enrich the QoE. This subscriber-centric, app-aware intelligence creates a true understanding of the customer experience, enabling monetization of the network and delivering automated network optimization.

We’ll be at MWC Shanghai in June, where our industry-leading solutions will once again be accessible to visitors to our stand. In the meantime, we’ll continue to innovate in the test and measurement space, supporting our customers and partners to prepare and plan for a 5G future, while seeing strong returns on their tech investments.  Get in touch if you want to find out more.

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