RFWiFi 7 (802.11be) RF PHY Test System Providers
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This page outlines RF and PHY test system providers for WiFi 7 devices, developed in accordance with the IEEE 802.11be standard.
Popular vendors of 11be test equipment useful for WiFi 7 testing include LitePoint, Rohde & Schwarz, and Keysight Technologies.
Introduction
The IEEE 802.11 series of standards has been developed for diverse applications such as Wireless LAN, VoIP, video streaming, cloud computing, telemedicine, voice/video conferencing, gaming, VR, AR, and IoT. All IEEE 802.11 standards define Physical (PHY) and MAC layer specifications.
What is WiFi 7?
WiFi 7 is the latest in the series of WLAN standards (Wireless Fidelity). The specifications for WiFi 7 are currently under development and are expected to be published under IEEE 802.11be by the EHT working group by 2024.
Here are the key technical specifications of WiFi 7:
- Frequency Bands: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz
- Bandwidth: 20, 40, 80, 80+80, 160, and 320 MHz
- Technology: Uplink and downlink OFDMA along with MU-MIMO
- Modulation: Up to 4096 QAM
- Security: WPA3
- Spatial Streams: Up to 16 spatial streams
- Enhanced OFDMA: Preamble puncturing, Multi-RU
- Other features: Multi-Link Operation (MLO)
The figure above illustrates the benefits of the WiFi 7 standard, including a high data rate (~40 Gbps), lower latency, high spectrum efficiency, better interference mitigation, higher power efficiency, and high capacity density.
802.11be WiFi 7 Test System from LitePoint
LitePoint, a Teradyne company, has developed a test system for WiFi device testing. This test system includes functionalities of a VSG (Vector Signal Generator) and a VSA (Vector Signal Analyzer). It is highly useful for testing various parameters of RF and PHY layers as per the IEEE 802.11be standard, as well as WiFi 7 conformance specifications. It is a great test system for 4096QAM measurements due to its low residual EVM floor.
Features of the WiFi 7 test system from LitePoint Model IQxel-MX TM include:
- Frequency Range: 400 MHz to 7300 MHz
- Signal Generation: Supports OFDMA RA, multi-RU and MLO features.
- Signal Analysis: Supports bandwidth up to 320 MHz.
- PHY Measurements: Transmitter and receiver PHY measurements such as spectral mask, frequency error, spectral flatness, constellation error, receiver sensitivity, ACR (Adjacent Channel Ratio) are supported.
- MIMO Testing: Supports MIMO testing with up to 4 x 4 configurations.
In addition to WiFi-7, this test platform also addresses WiFi test requirements as per IEEE 802.11ax (i.e. WiFi 6/6E) and legacy IEEE 802.11 standards such as 11a/11b/11g/11n/11p/11ac/11ah/11af/11j.
802.11be Test System Providers or Vendors
The following table lists providers or vendors of WiFi 7 test systems developed according to IEEE 802.11be specifications.
| Vendors | Description |
|---|---|
| LitePoint | This company develops test and measurement equipment for testing devices using WLAN, Bluetooth 5.x, Zigbee, Z-wave, DECT, LoRa, WiSUN and Sigfox standards. Visit litepoint.com for more information. |
| Rohde & Schwarz | The model R&S ® FSW signal analyzer can be used for 802.11be signal analysis up to 320 MHz bandwidth. It can analyze EHT-MU PPU packet format. It can be used to test 802.11be compliant devices. Both transmitter and receiver parameters such as transmit power, EVM, spectrum emissions, sensitivity, etc. can be tested. R&S develops VSG (Vector Signal Generator) and VSA (Vector Signal Analyzer). The company also develops wireless test systems for cellular standards as per GSM/4G LTE/5G specifications. Visit rohde-schwarz.com for more information. |
| Keysight Technologies | The company develops test and measurement equipment according to various standards including RFID, Zigbee, UWB, Bluetooth, WiFi, WiMAX, DVB, 4G LTE, 5G and more. Visit keysight.com for more information. |
