Nokia Bell Labs taps Keysight for 5G-Advanced, 6G tests

By Monica AllevenNov 10, 2022

According to Keysight, Nokia selected its technology to accelerate research and development critical to supporting 5G-Advanced and 6G use cases that leverage millimeter wave (mmWave) and sub-terahertz (THz) frequencies to wirelessly transmit large amounts of data across short distances.

Keysighta€™s 6G test bed was chosen to verify, under both linear and nonlinear conditions, the performance of TRX modules, power amplifiers and antennas. Nokia designed these network infrastructure components by leveraging complex modulation technology and D-Band (110 GHz to 170 GHz) and E-Band (60 GHz to 90 GHz) spectrum.

At last montha€™s 2022 Brooklyn 6G Summit, Keysight and Nokia demonstrated the 6G test bed in combination with Nokiaa€™s RFIC and radio-on-glass technology. The demonstration showcased the use of the 6G test bed for evaluating the performance of an individual component or a cascaded series of components in an end-to-end system, according to the companies.

a€œWorking with Keysight enables us to make significant progress in developing next generation wireless technology. Cross-industry collaborations are important in co-innovating technology that merges physical, digital and human domains to create immersive experiences that support meaningful interactions,a€ said Nokia Bell Labs Core Research President Peter Vetter in a statement.

Nokia got flak for lagging in 5G, but Nishant Batra, chief strategy and technology officer at Nokia, told Fierce last month that the company will make sure that doesna€™t happen with 6G.

Indeed, in a blog post earlier this year, Nokia spelled out how ita€™s working closing with industry organizations, government agencies and academia to make 6G technologies a reality. Nokia said it was selected to lead major 6G initiatives in the U.S., and ita€™s leading the Hexa-X-II project in Europe thata€™s designed to lay the groundwork for 6G standardization.

In it, the organization examines potential 6G use cases and notes that it is not likely that the 6G standards work will appear in a 3GPP release until after Release 19 or 20. 6G is expected to be ready for commercial deployment starting around 2030.

President of 5G Americas Chris Pearson said in a blog post that 5G is still expected to evolve into a€œ5G-Advanceda€ standards beginning in 2023-2024 with Release 18 all the way through 2026 with Release 22.

And while 5G development continues, ita€™s informing the industry as to the kind of recommendations that will go into the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)-defined a€œIMTa€ document (IMT-2030) that will set the course for the development of 6G for the next decade, he said.

Nokia Bell Labs has selected Keysight Technologiesa€™ sub-Terahertz (THz) test bed to verify the performance of 5G-Advanced and 6G transceiver (TRX) modules.